


Filler Title

by NacreHeart29



Series: Filler Title [1]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: The Origin | Pokemon Origins
Genre: Enemies to Friends to Lovers, M/M, Not Canon Compliant, Rare Pairings, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-28
Updated: 2020-10-12
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:33:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 30
Words: 51,160
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23366248
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NacreHeart29/pseuds/NacreHeart29
Summary: Lately, the champion position has been getting boring for Red. No one comes along anymore to challenge him at the Indigo Plateau and he's tired of the monotony. That changes when he learns that the new eighth gym leader is none other than Green Oak-his old rival.Green's just established his name as the new Viridian City gym leader when Red, his former rival, arrives to inspect the Viridian Gym. He doesn't know how to feel about Red-after all, they haven't seen each other in two years.Follow Green and Red as they rebuild their friendship back from the bottom and hopefully become something more.
Relationships: Ookido Green | Blue Oak & Red, Tsuwabuki Daigo | Steven Stone/Wataru | Lance
Series: Filler Title [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1846654
Comments: 36
Kudos: 189





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first chapter of my story-Filler Title. The only reason that's the title is because I didn't know what to name it and Filler Title kinda grew on me.
> 
> The story will be focused on both Red and Green. One thing you need to know: Red never went up the mountain because Lance and the rest of the Elite Four gave him support. Lance takes on some of the champion duties instead of Red (because Red is a child, gosh darn it!): for example, going to conferences in Red's stead, handling reporters and media, etc.
> 
> That's all that you're going to need to know for now. Please comment to me if I made any errors and I hope you enjoy!
> 
> -Jay

Somehow, when Red became champion, he hadn’t been expecting the vast amount of paperwork he’d have to do. Yet here he is, struggling his way through a stack of paper an inch high.

Why is he doing this instead of battling? Red has no idea. Absolutely none.

“Red?” Lance asks from where he’s sitting at the lounge table across from Red. “You okay? You look a little zoned out there.”

That’s because I am, Red thinks morosely. Tilting his head towards Lance, he writes out a question on a slip of paper.

Why are there so few challengers now?

Because for the first couple years of him being champion, there had been around five to six trainers challenging the League every week. Not a lot, but enough to make his position interesting. Now, though? For the past few months practically no one has been coming along to challenge them and the only people Red got to battle were the Elite Four. A challenge, sure, but not enough to ward off the boredom.

Lance chuckles when he reads the question Red had written. “That’s probably because of our new gym leader,” he says. “Practically no one gets through him.”

Who is it? Red writes. If the new gym leader is so good, maybe Red should go battle him. It could be interesting.

“Don’t you know?” Lance asks, frowning. “It’s Green. Your old rival. Remember?”

Red most certainly remembers Green. He remembers a smirking, prideful brunet who was somehow always one step ahead of Red and mocked him for it. He, however, does not remember when Green became a gym leader.

When did he become gym leader? And which gym? Red asks. Lance reads the questions, then looks at Red incredulously.

“Don’t you remember?” he asks. “We discussed this a few months ago. I asked you to approve Green Oak as the new Viridian City gym leader.”

Actually, Red does have a faint recollection of Lance asking him that, but Red hadn’t really paid attention. He’d just signed the form wherever Lance asked him to.  
Lance sighs. “Guess you don’t,” he says, sounding exasperated. “Well, if you want, you can go check out the gym. You don’t seem very interested in your paperwork anyway.”

Red nods guiltily and stands up, pushing his chair back. Lance stands up as well, sifting through a binder.

“Here,” Lance says. “It’s a gym inspection form. Just go in, show the form to one of the trainers, and they’ll take you to the gym leader. Follow the form and fill it out, then come back. Okay?” He hands Red the form, as well as a clipboard and a pencil.

Red nods, feeling rather nervous. He hasn’t seen Green in years. If he’s being honest with himself, Red misses their friendship. He misses how close they were when they were younger. 

“Good,” Lance says. “Go on, then.”

Red nods once again and walks out of his office, one hand gripping the clipboard(now with the form attached to it) and pencil, the other on Charizard’s pokeball.

Maybe Green will be the same jerk as always. Maybe he won’t.

Red doesn’t know. Standing outside of the Indigo League building, he summons Charizard and points towards Viridian City.


	2. Green

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is basically just my idea of what happened to Green during the two years between losing to Red and becoming a gym leader. This is also my way of trying to figure out how gyms would work in real life.
> 
> You may have figured this out by now: chapters will alternate between Red and Green's POV.
> 
> Again, please comment to me if I made any mistakes and I hope you enjoy Filler Title! :)
> 
> -Jay

When Green had returned to Kanto after several years of traveling about, he didn’t know what would happen.

Standing outside of his old home, Pidgeot next to him, Green had hesitated to knock. Before he could muster up his courage and do so, the door opened and Daisy stood there, shock written all over her face.

Green had smiled. “Hey, sis,” he’d said.

Daisy stared for a few more seconds, then lunged forward and hugged him. Hard. Green gasped as his breath was punched out of him - even with how strong he’d become, his sister was still stronger.

“I’ve missed you,” she’d said, half laughing half crying. “Don’t ever do that again, Green.”

Green could only nod. He hadn’t really expected many people to miss him, what with how much of an arrogant prick he’d been.

“Come in,” she’d said. “I’ve got some tea brewing.”

And that’s how he’d ended up sitting on their old couch, holding a mug of steaming hot tea, and listening as Daisy talked about how much had changed.

“Red is the champion - of course, you already know that,” she’d said. “Giovanni left and there’s some new guy as the eighth gym leader. The League is looking for a new gym leader, though.”  
She’d looked him up and down, then nodded. “You could apply, Green. You’re definitely good enough.”

“Me?” Green had said. “No way, sis! There’s no way the Elite Four - hell, there’s no way Red - would let me become a gym leader. I was a jerk, remember?”

Daisy nodded. “You were,” she’d said. “But I can see you’ve changed. Go on, apply. There’s no harm in doing so.”

Originally, Green had disagreed. But his grandfather had told him to do it and Red’s mom had told him to do it and Daisy just kept nagging him about it. Eventually, Green cracked and submitted an application.

Truth be told, he wasn’t expecting anything. Sure, he was probably one of the best from a battling point of view, but his reputation as a kind and reasonable human being? Not so much.

Then one day, Daisy had barged into his room waving a slip of paper.

“Gah - watch it, sis!” he’d yelled, falling off of his bed. “Don’t do that!”

Daisy laughed. “Sorry, Green,” she’d said insincerely. “But - look.”

Green looked at her sceptically and took the piece of paper from her hand.

The first thing he noticed was the word Congratulations in bold font. The second thing he noticed was on your successful application to be the Viridian City gym leader.

Holy s***

He won’t admit that he screamed but, looking back, he probably did.

I’m the gym leader. I’m the new Viridian City gym leader.

“Congratulations, Green!” Daisy had said, a huge smile on her face. “You’re the new eighth gym leader!”

That night had changed everything. Well, not everything. A whole lot.

The letter Daisy had given him had included an acceptance form, including all the duties he was expected to conduct. Green skimmed through the form quickly. 

Create a gym puzzle and maintain it-okay.  
Find gym trainers-alright.  
Distribute badges to any trainers who successfully make it past your puzzle and defeat you-duh.

The one thing that worried Green was how he would make a puzzle and find new trainers. Sure, he could just keep the old puzzle. But that was Giovanni’s gym. Not Green’s gym. And he was definitely going to get new trainers. From what Green had heard, the eighth gym leader had just been a substitute guy who was never meant to be a long-term leader and the trainers there? Well, Green didn’t have very high hopes.

The next day, Green had flown to Viridian City and entered the gym. The puzzle, Green noticed, was mostly unchanged, just a few extra sliding tiles and that was all. Green showed the Gym Guide his letter and the old man’s eyes widened slightly.

“You’re the new gym leader?” the man had said. “Hm. You look rather young… how old are you?”

“Doesn’t matter,” Green had said. “Where’s the gym leader?”

“Right this way,” the old man said. “You seem like a sharp young lad. You’ll be good for this gym.”

“Thank you,” Green says politely. He feels a hint of pride upon hearing the old man’s words.

You’ll be good for this gym.

He will, Green tells himself. If he can’t be the best trainer ever, he’ll be the best gym leader ever. Green can do that, at least.

The gym leader, upon seeing Green, sighed. “I guess you’re the new guy,” he’d said. “You look very young. How old are you?”

“None of your business,” Green said.  
“You look about fifteen, sixteen, maybe. Are you sure you want to run this place? Did the old dragon guy - Leo, Landan - force you?”

No, Lance (not Leo or Landan and certainly not old) hadn’t forced him. Yes, he did want to run this place. 

“Alright,” the (now former) gym leader had sighed. “Have fun, I guess. Good luck.”

And that was that.

First order of business - gym trainers. Green interviewed each one of the current gym trainers there. Two of them - Arabella and Bonita - he decided to keep. The rest weren’t good enough for his standards and were let off.

Green then distributed an invitation to apply for Viridian Gym trainer. He got several applications but two stood out - an Ace Trainer named Salma who apparently had been a trainer in Whitney’s gym and surprisingly, an application from a so-called Double Team. They were named Elan and Ida and they came from Hoenn.

Green called them over for an interview and after battling them, decided they were good enough and hired all three.

Next order of business-gym puzzle. Green spent several nights creating an actual puzzle - and then a week working through the logistics of maintaining it. He then submitted his work to Lance, who approved it.

Trainers-done.

Puzzle-done.

Now to actually make his gym.

Green let out his newly evolved Sylveon and his Rhyperior and had them take down the maze. The ripped-out walls were sent to a recycling company, the tiles and elevated platforms he decided to keep in. He had a plan to incorporate the tiles into his puzzle and the platforms, well, they were standard for gyms.

Using the money from the recycling company(apparently recycling walls is a lucrative business), Green bought sliding tiles from AliBaba and with the help of his newfound trainers, installed them. It took approximately forever, the help of Salma’s Spinda and Elan’s Porygon2, and one phone call to the AliBaba company because how the hell does this thing work, where do these wires go please send help but after weeks of work, it was done.

Standing before his new gym puzzle, Arabella, Bonita, Salma, Elan, and Ida at his side, Green smiles.

“Anyone want to give it a try?” he asks, looking at all his trainers. “How about… you, Salma. Test it out.”

“Okay, si-Green,” she says hesitantly. Walking forwards, Salma steps onto the leftmost red tile and starts spinning. She spins left, up right, down, right again, and comes to a stop.

“It works?” Green asks. Obviously it does, but he just wants to make sure. You never know.

Salma beams. “It works,” she confirms.  
Silence for a moment.

And then Arabella, Bonita, Salma, Elan, and Ida cheer, laughing and smiling and slapping each other on the back and Green’s laughing as well, overwhelmed. He’s got his own gym, his own team of trainers, and, of course, his pokemon. For the first time in life, he feels complete.

At first, newcomers are sceptical about the new gym. Giovanni is still fresh in their minds, after all. But Green is nothing if not persistent. Gradually, the Viridian Gym changes from being a place of ruin and dishonor to being one of the finest gyms in Kanto.

Green battles and trains. His pokemon become stronger than ever before. After years of feeling lost, of feeling inferior, he’s happy. Viridian City is his home now and Green won’t let anyone take it away.


	3. Red

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is basically my interpretation of how gyms and such would work in real life. This is also my interpretation of how battling would work in real life. For example, accuracy doesn't matter as much because pokemon can dodge. Some moves do need time to charge up, though. PP isn't a thing; however, pokemon can get tired if they battle too long. You don't forget moves, you learn new ones. TMs and foreign moves take a lot longer to learn. 
> 
> Again, I hope you enjoy the newest installment of Filler Title! Comment to me if I made any errors.
> 
> -Jay

Charizard stops in front of Viridian City and Red slides off of Charizard’s back, patting him lightly as thanks. 

As much as Red would like for Charizard (or any of his pokemon) to stay out, he knows how much attention they would garner and he would rather not be stared at. With a sigh, he unclips Charizard’s ball from his belt and recalls him. Pulling the brim of his hat down, Red walks into Viridian City.

He’s nervous at first. When Red had first become champion, it felt like everyone was constantly watching him. Red, the silent champion. Red, the youngest champion in Kanto history. Red; took down Team Rocket at ten years old. People were constantly talking to him, crowding him, asking him questions.

But no one seems to recognize him. No one even glances his way and Red feels a sense of relief. He’s invisible. Good.

Clutching the clipboard to his chest, Red walks up to the Viridian Gym and enters through the sliding doors.  
The first thing he notices are the tiles on the floor. They’re black with neon arrows, colored either red, blue, orange, or indigo. The whole place is darkly lit, with trainers standing on elevated platforms about the gym. It’s very different from Giovanni’s old gym.

“Well?” someone says. Red starts, turning towards where the voice had come from. He hadn’t noticed anyone standing nearby.

An old man steps out from the shadows, face serious. “Are you going to challenge the gym or just ogle it all day?” he asks.

Red shakes his head and holds out the clipboard. The old man frowns, leaning forward. “Gym… inspection,” he says. “Oh! You’re one of those guys, then. Those elitist people. Well, come on then. This way.”

Red follows the man onto the colored tiles and immediately starts spinning. He grips onto his clipboard tightly as they spin across the floor. They come to a stop in front of one of the platforms and Red sways, feeling dizzy. The old man chuckles. “Dizzy?” he asks. “You’ll get used to it, don’t worry. Come along, now. This way.”

Again, Red steps onto a tile and starts spinning, landing in front of another platform. The old man steps onto an indigo tile and Red follows suit. He’s led through the gym in this fashion, spinning about until they come to a stop in front of a door, labeled Gym Leader.

Green.

“Wait here,” the old man says. “I think the Leader is finishing a battle.” Sure enough, Red hears the faint cries of a Pidgeot and the low growl of a Ninetales. “While we wait,” the old man continues, “you can fill out some of your form, yes?”

Red nods and looks through the form.

Gym systems in working order - check.

Trainers in good form to battle - Red hasn’t battled any of them yet, but probably check.

Gym leader in good form to battle - very likely check.

Badges given out fairly - … maybe.

They sit together in comfortable silence, interrupted only by the cries of pokemon and the scratching of Red’s pencil. The old man pulls out a length of string; to do what, Red doesn’t know.

Finally, the door opens and an Ace Trainer walks out, looking sad. He probably lost.

“Wait here,” the old man says and enters the room. Red tries to catch a glimpse of Green, but to no avail. With a sigh, he leans back against the wall and stares down at his clipboard.

Seconds tick by. An Azumarill shoots forwards, water forming around it like a cannonball. A Slowking unleashes a stream of fire, incinerating a hapless Venusaur.

“Hey, you can come in now,” someone says from Red's right. It’s the old man. Red nods and stands up, then walks inside the Gym Leader’s room. The old man walks away, probably returning to his post by the door. 

Green is standing on a sort of dais on the other side of the room, Pidgeot next to him. He looks different, somehow. Taller, maybe? He’s changed his clothing as well, switching from a black collared shirt and blue jeans to… a black collared jacket and not-blue jeans. Green’s smirking as usual, but this time it seems less arrogant and more genuine.

It’s a nice change. 

“Yo, Red!” Green calls out, walking down from the dais. Pidgeot follows him, flying close to the ground. “How ya doing, champ?” 

Red doesn’t respond. It’s not like he can, being mute and all.

Green laughs. It’s a nice laugh, different from his old I’m-better-than-you laugh. “Silent as ever, I see,” he teases. “Well, how do you like it? Viridian Gym, my pride and joy.” He comes to a stop about a meter away from Red. Pidgeot lands next to Green and coos softly when Green runs a hand through its feathers.

It’s nice, Red writes and shows to Green, who pauses before giving him an offended look.

“Nice?! I’ll have you know this is the best gym in all of Kanto. She is a beauty. A beauty.”

Red stifles a laugh. Typical Green.

“Also,” Green says, taking on a more serious look, “you don’t have to write everything you want to say, Red. If you know sign language, use that.”

Red doesn’t think he hides his surprise well enough. You know sign? he signs.

Green rolls his eyes. “Duh. So do all my trainers,” he - well, brags doesn't seem like the right word to use, but he brags. “Who do you think we are, huh? Best gym in Kanto, that’s who we are. So obviously, we’re gonna know sign.”

Red decides not to call Green’s bluff and simply signs, I need to battle one of your trainers.

Green doesn’t bat an eye. “Alright. Come on, I think Bonita might be done battling.” He recalls Pidgeot and walks past Red, heading for the door. Wordlessly, Red follows. 

Green leads him across the tiled floor, spinning left, down, and then left again. They come to a stop in front of one of the elevated platforms and Green walks up a set of stairs leading to the trainer on top. Red follows close behind.

The trainer there (Bonita? Red’s pretty sure that’s the name Green said) calls for a sucker punch and the Spinda darts forward, fist glowing with dark energy. The opponent’s Nidorina growls, shifting in confusion, before lunging at Spinda with a double kick. The Spinda dances back, wobbling as its attack powers up, before hitting the Nidorina with a point-blank psybeam which knocks it out.

The Nidorina’s owner groans in frustration. “Why couldn’t I win?” he says, recalling his Nidorina and walking off of the platform, brushing roughly past Red and Green.  
Bonita (he thinks) beams at his Spinda. “Good job!” he cheers, holding out a hand for his pokemon to high-five. The Spinda jumps up and high-fives its trainer, which makes Red crack a small smile.

“Bonita!” Green calls out, which makes Red start slightly. He’s not really used to loud voices.

“Sorry,” Green mutters in an undertone and Red blinks in surprise. Huh.

“Yes, Leader?” Bonita calls out, jogging over to them. 

“Our gym’s being evaluated,” Green says, a smirk twitching at the edge of his lips. “Care to battle our guest?”

Bonita stares for a second, looking surprised. “Evaluated? We didn’t get a notice.”

Green shrugs. “Guess it's a surprise evaluation, then. You want to battle him-” he points towards Red- “or do you want someone else to do it?”

“No, I’ll do it.” Bonita says hurriedly. “I’m just a little surprised, is all. Didn’t expect an evaluation today.” Then the Ace Trainer actually takes a good look at Red and starts. “Are you-?”

Red nods. 

“Woah,” Bonita says, looking spellbound. “That’s so cool! You dismantled Team Rocket all on your own and beat G - sorry,” he says, looking towards Green.

But Green simply laughs it off. “Don’t worry about it,” he says. “Alright, you two wanted to battle? Good job with your Spinda against that Nidorina by the way, Bonita.” he adds.

When none of them move, surprised, Green rolls his eyes. “Come on. You said you wanted to battle, right? Get moving!”

There’s the Green I know, Red thinks, heading off to one side of the platform. Bonita stands at the other end, Spinda teetering next to him.

“Alright, it’s gonna be a 1 v. 1. Call out your first pokemon,” Green says. Bonita’s Spinda dances forwards at a gesture from its trainer and Red summons Pikachu.

“Ready?” Green calls. 

“Yep!” Bonita says, looking a little nervous.

Red nods.

“Alright… go!” Green says.

“Sucker punch!” Bonita calls. Spinda wobbles, then darts forward with surprising speed.

Thunder wave, Red signs and Pikachu’s cheeks puff out before meeting Spinda’s sucker punch with a weak jolt of electricity. The Spinda dances back, much slower now, and Pikachu remains standing.

Spark, Red signs. Pikachu’s fur sparks before it darts forwards, electricity crackling between its ears.

“Meet it with a psybeam!” Bonita calls out and Spinda, now slower than before, charges up the attack.

Dodge, Red signals and Pikachu dodges to the side before tackling Spinda in a burst of electricity. Spinda wobbles, sparks shooting up its fur as Pikachu darts away from its attempt at another psybeam.

Bonita sighs. “Alright, Spinda. Change tactics.”

Pikachu, crouched in front of Red, watches Spinda warily as it begins to wobble and dance. Teeter dance, he realizes.

Look away! Red signs but to no avail as Pikachu, too, starts hesitantly following Spinda’s dance before wobbling in confusion.

Bonita grins triumphantly. “Feint attack, Spinda!”

Spinda stops teetering about and fixes its gaze on Pikachu, moving around in circles. 

Follow it, Red signs but Pikachu doesn’t do anything, still wobbling about. Spinda, still circling Pikachu, runs forwards suddenly, fist glowing with dark energy.  
Spark, Red signs quickly. Thankfully, Pikachu reacts on time and meets Spinda with an electrified tackle. The two pokemon land hard on the platform, Spinda trapped beneath Pikachu.

“Flail!” Bonita calls. Spinda starts thrashing about, fists waving.

Dodge away! Red signs and Pikachu hesitates before being hit by one of Spinda’s fists and immediately jumping away. Spinda gets up with a wobble.

“Hit it with a psybeam!”

Spinda teeters about, eyes glowing as it starts charging up the attack.

Thunderbolt, Red signs.

Luckily, his gesture seems to snap Pikachu out of its confusion and just as Spinda fires its psybeam, Pikachu jumps up. Ears crackling with electricity, Pikachu unleashes a thunderbolt with a fierce cry. Spinda falls over, sparks running up and down its sides.

It’s paralyzed, Red realizes.

“Try and get up,” Bonita says, watching Spinda with worry. The pokemon groans softly before lifting its head and pushing itself up.

Thunderbolt! Red signs and Pikachu does its best impression of a smirk before letting loose a bolt of electricity. It arcs through the air and hits the hapless Spinda dead-on. Spinda cries out in pain as electricity crackles about its form before collapsing, having been knocked out.

“You did well, Spinda,” Bonita says softly, returning his fainted pokemon.

Good job, Pikachu, Red signs, petting the pokemon lightly. Pikachu chirps happily, nuzzling into Red’s hand and Red smiles.

“Winner is - well, we both know,” Green says. “Great battle, both of you. Bonita, work on charging those psybeams a little faster.”

“Yes, Leader,” Bonita says, looking a little sad.

“That doesn’t mean you didn’t do well,” Green says firmly. “You’re still a good trainer. I mean, he’s Red. The champion and all that pizazz. We common folk aren’t allowed to beat him, otherwise he wouldn’t exactly be the best champion.”

Red frowns, a little insulted. Bonita laughs, though.

“Thanks Leader,” the Ace Trainer says. Turning to Red, Bonita smiles. “You’re really good. You definitely live up to the legend.”

“What about me?” Green asks.

“You too, Leader,” Bonita says. Green laughs.

“Thanks, Bonita,” Green says. “Yo, Red, do you need anything else?”

Red shrugs. Where’s my clipboard? he signs.

“Next to me,” Green says, gesturing towards it. Red walks over, recalling Pikachu on the way. He picks it up.

Gym systems in working order - yep.

Trainers in good form to battle - Bonita’s pokemon seems well trained and glancing around the gym, he’s pretty sure the others are too. Check.

Gym leader fit to battle - he’ll battle Green later.

Badges given out fairly - huh.

Do you have any records of trainers that have won or lost to you? Red signs. Green nods.  
“Of course. This way - it’s in my room.”

Green leads Red down the stairs after waving a lazy goodbye to Bonita and they spin up, right, down, right, up, left, and up again, coming to a stop in front of the Gym Leader room. Green opens the door and they walk inside, crossing the arena and stopping in front of a chart next to another door (labeled Office, Red notes).

“This is my hall of shame,” Green jokes. “The trainers who have beaten me during my three months of reign.”  
Red takes a look. There is exactly one name written there. Ace Trainer Shelly, it says.

He does remember hearing about a trainer named Shelly coming along to fight the Elite Four. She didn’t manage to make it past Lance, though, and Red was disappointed.

How’d she beat you? Red signs.

“Skill,” Green says with a shrug. “It was a pretty narrow match. I’m sure I can beat her now, though.”

Red nods. Knowing Green, he probably could.

You gave her a badge, then? he signs.

Green gives him an insulted look. “Who do you think I am? Of course I did! Did she challenge the Elite Four?”

Red nods.

“Well then, obviously I must have given her a badge,” Green points out, still looking rather offended. 

Sorry, Red signs.

Green blinks at him, then laughs. “It’s okay, buddy. I’m not actually that offended.”

Red nods, feeling relieved. I’m also supposed to evaluate the gym leader’s skill, he signs. Green realizes almost immediately what he means.

“Three on three?” he asks, a smirk twitching at the edge of his lips.

Red nods and Green grins, hazel eyes almost seeming to glow.

“Been a long time since we battled,” he says, walking to the opposite side of the arena. “Hope you’ve been keeping up your training.”

There’s no mockery in his words, though, and Red embraces that.

Green flicks his hair from his face and smirks. “Ready, rival?” he teases. “You’re gonna lose this time!”

They both send out their first pokemon and Red feels something he hasn’t felt in a long time. A fire that had been long gone surges back to life and Red can’t help but smile slightly.

He’s missed this.


	4. Green

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!
> 
> There really isn't much for me to say here. This is just Green's POV of the events from the last chapter. 
> 
> I do feel that, as a character Green is a lot more fleshed-out than Red. There's more of a story behind Green. There are going to be chapters from Green's POV that will be longer than chapters from Red's POV. That might be because what Green is doing is more interesting than what Red is doing and there's more I have to tell, or because I can explore Green's emotions more deeply than Red's. I will try to keep it balanced, though.
> 
> As for the title, I'm honestly considering just keeping it as 'Filler Title'. Mainly because I can't think of anything else, but also because it has kind of grown on me. Maybe I'll figure something out later, who knows. But for now, Filler Title is going to stay Filler Title.
> 
> I hope you enjoy this chapter! Tell me if I made any errors.
> 
> -Jay

“Facade!” Green calls out, gesturing in time with his command and Pidgeot surges up with a cry, all signs of weakness gone, shooting towards the startled Ninetales on the other side of the pitch. The Ninetales attempts a fire blast but both trainer and pokemon are prepared for a surprise attack. Pidgeot responds to Green’s wordless command of agility with ease, dodging the fire blast and slamming straight into the Ninetales, body enveloped in a bright blue glow. With a pained cry, the opposing pokemon faints and Pidgeot flies back towards Green, landing next to him.

“Good job, Pidgeot,” Green says with a smile. He digs a burn heal from his bag and sprays it over Pidgeot’s burn. Pidgeot coos softly, nudging its head into Green’s side.

“Why couldn’t I win?” the other trainer moans sadly. Green feels a hint of sadness.

“You did well,” he says. “Losing doesn’t make you a bad trainer.” A fact which took him years to learn.

The trainer sighs. “Forget it,” he mutters, recalling his fainted Ninetales and walking out the door. Green watches him leave.

“He’ll learn,” he murmurs to Pidgeot, stroking a hand through its feathers. “Like I did.”

Pidgeot rustles his feathers lightly and coos again, nudging Green’s side. Green smiles, softer this time.

Briefly, he wonders what Red’s doing. He hasn’t seen his old rival in two years and three months. Then he quashes that thought. No time for thinking about Red now - they’ve gone their separate ways and Green is happy with his life here. He doesn’t want his past ruining what he’s built for himself.

“Leader?” someone asks and Green looks back up. It’s Alan, the gym guide.

“Yeah?” he asks. 

“The champion is doing an inspection,” Alan says bluntly and Green freezes.

_ Red. _

“Was he wearing a red cap?” he asks. Just to make sure, you know.

Alan nods. “Shall I send him away?”

Green shakes his head hurriedly. “No, no. Just - give me a moment.”

He takes a deep breath, runs a hand through his hair. Pidgeot coos gently, sensing his worry and Sylveon’s ball shakes.

“It’s okay, Sylveon,” he murmurs, brushing a hand over her ball. Pidgeot coos again, nudging him. Green brushes a hand through Pidgeot’s feathers, enjoying the familiar smooth softness. 

_ What is Red doing here? _ he wonders. Probably to kick him out.

“Alright,” he says. His voice sounds stronger than it actually is and Green is grateful for that. “Send him in.”

Alan nods and exits. Green pets Pidgeot one more time then removes his hand and crosses his arms about his chest, putting on his traditional smirk. It comes as easily as breathing.

The door opens and Red walks in. He’s wearing his traditional cap and is clutching a clipboard to his chest. He’s taller now, Green notes, and has an aura of  _ don’t-mess-with-me-you’ll-regret-it. _

His eyes are still the same bright garnet red, but they somehow seem much older than before.

Green feels something in his chest stir. There’s no way he’ll admit it to Red, but he’s missed his rival. 

“Yo, Red!” he calls out, stepping down from the dais. Pidgeot follows him, hovering close to the floor. “How ya doing, champ?”

Red, as per usual, doesn’t respond and Green laughs. It’s not like he expected a response.

“Silent as ever, I see,” he jokes. “Well, how do you like it? Viridian Gym, my pride and joy.” He comes to a stop about a meter away from Red. Pidgeot lands next to him and coos when Green brushes a hand through his feathers.

Red pauses, then scribbles something on his clipboard.  _ It’s nice _ , is what he’s written on a piece of paper.

A piece of paper titled  **Gym Inspection Form** .

Relief floods his chest. Maybe Red isn’t here to kick him out, after all.

“Nice?!” Green feigns offense. “I’ll have you know this is the best gym in all of Kanto. She is a beauty. A beauty.”

And it’s because of Green. This is something that  _ he’s _ achieved. Not Red, not Gramps, not anyone else. This is his gym. This is something he can be proud of.

Red stifles a laugh and Green feels his heart settle. Maybe this won’t be so bad.

“Also,” he adds, “you don’t have to write everything you want to say, Red. If you know sign language, use that.”

Red tries to hide it, he does, but Green reads his surprise easily.  _ You know sign?  _ Red signs.

Green rolls his eyes. “Duh. So do all my trainers. Who do you think we are, huh? Best gym in Kanto, that’s who we are. So obviously, we’re gonna know sign.”

He’s bluffing. He’s bluffing and Green knows that Red knows. Thankfully, Red doesn’t call him out on it and instead signs,  _ I need to battle one of your trainers. _

That’s standard for gym inspections, Green knows. “Alright,” he says, recalling Pidgeot. “Come on, I think Bonita might be done battling.”

He walks out the door, Red following, and steps onto an indigo tile. They spin left, down, left again, and land in front of Bonita’s platform. Green ascends the stairs, Red walking close behind him.

Bonita’s Spinda is battling a Nidorina. Green watches, curious as to how this’ll turn out. Spinda darts forwards with a sucker punch; the Nidorina reels back, likely confused from a teeter dance. It’s this bit of time that allows Spinda to charge up an attack and dodge back from Nidorina's double kick. One good psybeam and the Nidorina faints. A good battle, but if the Nidorina had been faster Spinda might have been in trouble.

“Good job!” Bonita cheers and holds out a hand. Spinda jumps up and high-fives Bonita. Out of the corner of Green’s eye, he notices Red smiling.

Green doesn’t think he’s ever successfully made Red smile.

“Bonita!” Green calls out. Red flinches and Green mutters a quick apology. He’d forgotten about Red’s hatred of loud noises; more specifically, voices. 

“Yes, Leader?” Bonita replies, jogging over to them. Spinda follows, teetering about. 

“Our gym’s being evaluated,” Green says. He feels a smirk twitching at the edge of his lips. “Care to battle our guest?”

“Evaluated?” Bonita asks, surprised. “We didn’t get a notice.”

  
Green shrugs. “Guess it’s a surprise evaluation, then,” He understands Bonita’s worry, however. “You want to battle him, or you want someone else to do it?”

“No, I’ll do it,” Bonita says hurriedly. “I’m just a little surprised, is all. Didn’t expect an evaluation today.” Then he actually looks at Red and starts. “Are you-?” And Green can practically see the stars in Bonita’s eyes. He can’t help but feel a bit jealous - Green doesn’t think he’s ever made anyone look at him like that.

Red nods. 

“Woah,” Bonita says, starstruck. “That’s so cool! You dismantled Team Rocket all on your own and beat G - sorry,” he says, looking towards Green.

Green laughs it off. Red is definitely the best trainer in Kanto (he likes to believe he’s a close second) and he’s long gotten over his defeat. “Don’t worry about it,” he says. “Alright, you two wanted to battle? Good job with your Spinda against that Nidorina by the way, Bonita.” he adds.

When none of them move, surprised, Green rolls his eyes. Seriously? You’d think he sprouted wings and grew a tail by the looks on their faces. “Come on. You said you wanted to battle, right? Get moving!”

Both Red and Bonita nod and head towards opposite ends of the pitch.

“Alright, it’s gonna be a 1 v. 1. Call out your first pokemon,” Green says. Bonita’s Spinda dances forwards at a gesture from its trainer and Red summons his Pikachu.

“Ready?” Green calls. He’s interested in seeing how this turns out.

“Yep!” Bonita says, looking a little nervous.

Red nods.

“Alright… go!” Green says.

“Sucker punch!” Bonita calls. Spinda wobbles, then darts forward with surprising speed.

_ Thunder wave, _ Red signs. Pikachu’s cheeks puff out and the two pokemon meet in a burst of sparks. Spinda’s fur crackles with residue electricity from the thunder wave (paralysis, Green notes) and Pikachu staggers slightly but remains standing.

_ Spark _ , Red signs. Electricity crackles over Pikachu’s fur before it darts forwards.

“Meet it with a psybeam!” Bonita calls out and Spinda charges up the attack. Too slow, however.  _ Dodge, _ Red signals, and Pikachu jumps to the side before tackling Spinda in a burst of electricity. Spinda wobbles dangerously, sparks crackling about its fur as Pikachu darts away from its attempt at another psybeam.

Green winces. Bonita’s going to have to work on that. 

Bonita sighs. “Alright, Spinda. Change tactics.”

Pikachu, crouched in front of Red, watches Spinda warily as it begins its teeter dance.  _ Look away!  _ Red signs hurriedly but to no avail as Pikachu, too, starts hesitantly following Spinda’s dance before wobbling about in confusion. 

Bonita grins triumphantly. “Feint attack, Spinda!” 

  
Spinda stops teetering about and fixes its gaze on Pikachu, moving around in random circles. 

_ Follow it,  _ Red signs but Pikachu is too confused to do anything and continues just teetering about. Spinda, still circling Pikachu, jumps forwards suddenly, fist glowing with dark energy.

_ Spark,  _ Red signs quickly. Luckily for Red, Pikachu reacts and meets Spinda’s feint attack, fur sparking. Spinda is knocked back, Pikachu falling on top of it.

“Flail!” Bonita calls. A good choice, considering how weakened Spinda is already.

_ Dodge away!  _ Red signs and Pikachu doesn’t move. One of Spinda’s fists hits it hard and Pikachu reacts, jumping away. Spinda manages to get up, wobbling.

“Hit it with a psybeam!”

Spinda teeters about, eyes glowing as it starts charging up the attack.

_ Thunderbolt, _ Red signs.

His gesture seems to snap Pikachu out of confusion. Just as Spinda unleashes its psybeam, Pikachu leaps up. Electricity crackles between its ears and with a cry, Pikachu unleashes a thunderbolt. It strikes Spinda dead on. Spinda falls over, residue electricity sparking in its fur. It can’t move, Green realizes.

“Try and get up,” Bonita says, watching Spinda with worry. Spinda gets up shakily and fixes its gaze on Pikachu.

Before it can do anything, however, Red signs  _ Thunderbolt _ to his Pikachu once more and it obeys. Pikachu’s cheeks puff out, sparking, and a bolt of electricity arces across the platform connecting with the hapless Spinda and knocking it out.

“You did well, Spinda,” Bonita says softly, returning his fainted pokemon.

_ Good job, Pikachu, _ Red signs, petting the pokemon lightly. Pikachu chirps, nuzzling into Red’s hand and again Green sees Red smile.

He wishes, privately to himself, that he could make Red smile like that as well.

“Winner is - well, we both know,” Green says. “Great battle, both of you. Bonita, work on charging those psybeams a little faster.”

  
“Yes, Leader,” Bonita says, looking a little sad. And, well, Green needs to fix that.

“That doesn’t mean you didn’t do well,” Green says firmly. “You’re still a good trainer. I mean, he’s  _ Red _ . The champion and all that pizazz. We common folk aren’t allowed to beat him, otherwise he wouldn’t exactly be the best champion.”

Red gives Green a disapproving look. Bonita laughs, though.

“Thanks Leader,” the Ace Trainer says. Turning to Red, Bonita smiles. “You’re really good. You definitely live up to the legend.”

  
“What about me?” Green asks, widening his eyes in an imitation of sadness.

“You too, Leader,” Bonita says indulgently. Green laughs at that.

“Thanks, Bonita,” Green says. “Yo, Red, do you need anything else?”

Red shrugs, going back to his usual inscrutable self.  _ Where’s my clipboard? _ he signs.

“Next to me,” Green says, gesturing towards it. Red walks over, recalling Pikachu on the way, and picks it up. He scans it, using his pencil to write something and occasionally glancing around Green’s gym. Green wonders what Red is writing. He wonders what Red is thinking

.

_ Do you have any records of trainers that have won or lost to you? _ Red signs, tilting his head slightly. Green nods.

“Of course. This way - it’s in my room.”

He waves to Bonita and they walk down the stairs. Green steps onto a red tile, Red following (red, Red, heh), and they spin up, right, down, right, up, left, and up again, landing in front of the Gym Leader’s room. Green opens the door, has a two-second debate about whether to let Red go in first, decides on no, and they walk inside. The door closes.

The two of them cross the pitch and stop in front of a chart next to Green’s office. There is one name on the chart.  _ Ace Trainer Shelly. _

“This is my Hall of Shame,” Green jokes. “The trainers who have beaten me during my three months of reign.”

Shelly had come in, all pride and swagger and a lot of talent. She was a prodigy, Green recalls, and had smirked when she beat him. Like he was worse because he’d lost.

She reminded Green of himself.

Hopefully Red beat her. Or Lance, or any of the Elite Four.

_ How’d she beat you? _ Red signs. Green simply shrugs.

“Skill,” he says. “It was a pretty narrow match. I’m sure I can beat her now, though.” He’s gotten a lot stronger, now. Probably not strong enough to beat Red, but Green will get there someday. One day.

Red nods, as if agreeing with his words, then signs  _ You gave her a badge, then? _

At that, Green feels a pang of hurt. Was he really so much of a sore loser back then?

“Who do you think I am?” he says. “Of course I did! Did she challenge the Elite Four?”

Red nods.

“Well then, obviously I must have given her a badge,” Green says. Common sense, hello? Anyone?

_ Sorry,  _ Red signs.

Green blinks in surprise. Why would Red apologize - oh. Green laughs at that.

“It’s okay, buddy,” he says. “I’m not actually that offended.” Just a little hurt.

Red nods, looking a bit relieved.  _ I’m also supposed to evaluate the gym leader’s skill,  _ he signs. And Green realizes immediately what Red means.

“Three on three?” he asks, a smirk twitching at the edge of his lips. Green has missed battling his rival.

Red nods and Green grins. 

“Been a long time since we battled,” he says, walking to the opposite side of the arena. “Hope you’ve been keeping up your training.”

There’s no bite to Green’s words, however. He’s not mocking or jealous. Flicking his bangs out of his face, he flashes Red his signature smirk. 

“Ready,  _ rival? _ ” Green teases. “You’re gonna lose this time!” And maybe it’s his brain fooling him but as they send out their pokemon, Green swears that Red is smiling. It’s a very small smile and disappears almost immediately but Green made Red smile.

He actually made Red smile.

Green loses, as per usual. But it was worth it.


	5. Red

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!
> 
> Currently, Filler Title is my most important piece of work. I've got a lot planned for this. I am, however, thinking about starting something else. It's not completely fleshed out in my mind yet, but who knows!
> 
> Filler Title is mainly focused on Red and Green's relationship, but I do have some other characters involved. Yes, I paired Lance with Steven Stone. This whole story is already set in a pretty canon divergent universe-why not go all the way? Maybe I will do a sequel-or prequel-focused on how Red and Green's pokemon journey went. Or maybe I'll focus on Lance's relationship with Steven. I'm still on the fence about that.
> 
> Once again, I hope you enjoy my writing! Tell me if I can improve anything.
> 
> -Jay

Red returns to the Elite Four building feeling… happy.

He hasn’t felt like this for a while. Lance, Agatha, Bruno, and Lorelai are all very nice and treat him like family. They train and talk and eat together and their casual kindness always makes Red feel happy. But Green makes him feel a different kind of happiness. Red doesn’t know how to describe it.

He slides off of Charizard’s back and pets it softly.  _ Thanks _ , he signs. Charizard bumps Red lightly in the chest and Red smiles before returning Charizard to its ball.

Turning towards the big doors that led inside the building, Red grasps the clipboard and walks inside. He takes a right turn and walks past the PokeMart clerk towards another door. This one didn’t lead to the Elite Four chambers; rather, it led to the League quarters. Red unlocks the door and walks inside.

Viridian Gym wasn’t really what Red had expected. He’d thought Green would keep it the same as Giovanni’s old gym. He’d been expecting his rival to be the same as before: prideful, condescending, and a bit of a sore loser.

Green had really changed. He actually smiled instead of constantly smirking, he teased Red but didn’t mock him, and accepted losing with grace. Well, with as much grace as Green had, anyway.

It's a change Red hadn’t expected, but certainly not an unwelcome one.

“Well?” Lance says when Red walks into the lounge. The dragon trainer is sitting on the carpeted floor playing with a baby Dratini. “How’d your inspection go?”

Red simply passes the clipboard to Lance, who scans it quickly.

“Not bad for your first time,” he says. “So, what do you think of your rival now?”

Red holds out a hand and Lance passes him a notebook and a pencil. It’s become customary for the Elite Four to carry around notebooks and pencils so if Red wants to ‘say’ something, he’s able to do so.

_ He’s changed, _ Red simply writes. Lance glances at the notebook and nods.

“He has,” Lance says with a slight smile. “When I first went to inspect the gym, I was surprised at how different he was. I battled him. He beat me again.” A corner of Red’s lip twitches up, but then he frowns slightly.

_ How did you beat Shelly, then? _

“She got overconfident,” Lance says with a wry smile. “She was so sure she could sweep through me easily, now that she’d gotten through three Elite Four members and Green. She made reckless choices and pushed her pokemon to attack and attack without thinking about counterattacks or defense. I managed to take her out.”

Red nods. That makes sense.

He hesitates, then scribbles down,  _ Do you know sign? _

“Only a little,” Lance says. “Do you?”

Red nods.

“I’ll get to learning sign, then,” Lance says. “It would definitely make it easier to communicate.”

_ Thank you, _ Red writes.

“You’re welcome,” Lance says. Red nods and sits down next to Lance. The two settle into a comfortable silence, interrupted only by the soft chirps of the baby Dratini.

“I think I’ll name this one Ryu,” Lance says thoughtfully. “She’ll grow into a strong Dragonite.”

_ You already have a lot of Dragonites,  _ Red points out. Lance shrugs.

“One more couldn’t hurt,” he says, scritching the baby Dratini’s head with one finger and Ryu chirps happily.

_ Why don’t you get a Kingdra? _ Red writes. Lance glances over and smiles upon reading what Red had written.

“Clair would kill me,” he says with a laugh. “She once told me that I could have the Dratini line, but she got the Horsea line. And only her, because apparently I 'wouldn't treat a Kingdra right. They're majestic beings, unlike your strange fat orange dragons.' ”Red's lip twitches up in amusement-he'd met the prickly Blackthorn gym leader before and could definitely picture Clair saying that. 

_ Clair’s all the way in Johto, though, _ Red points out.

“Good point,” Lance says thoughtfully. “But I’ll stick with Dragonite for now. Clair somehow finds a way to know everything. And if she doesn’t find out, the Johto champion probably will.”

_ Who’s the Johto champion again? _ Red writes.

“Karen,” Lance says. “She used to be the Elite Four leader, but the Johto champion ran off to somewhere and she stepped up in his place.”

_ Then who leads the Elite Four? _ Red writes.

“Someone named Jayvyn,” Lance says. “She’s an electric specialist. Like Lieutenant Surge.”

Red nods. He wonders who the Johto champion used to be. Why would they just abandon their post?

Sure, being champion can be rather stressful. Red has never liked having to do interviews or deal with reporters. But usually Lance or Lorelei handle those things and they step in when it gets too stressful for Red to deal with (he’s ashamed to say that that’s nearly all the time).

Maybe the Johto Elite Four didn’t do the same. Red isn’t sure. Maybe the champion before Karen had some other reason for running off. 

Red decides not to think about it too much and instead focuses on tracing the intricate patterns in the carpet. He allows his mind to drift, just relaxing for a moment.

Somehow, his thoughts wander to Green.

Beside him, Lance laughs softly at something. At what, Red doesn’t know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just realized-in Chapter 2, I mentioned a real life company. It's called AliBaba-many of you probably know it. I was searching online for a company that sold spinning tiles. Apparently, AliBaba has those(not really, but whatever).
> 
> I do not own AliBaba in anyway. I am not affiliated. Just a disclaimer.
> 
> P.S: Lance swaps out his Dragonites from time to time. You may have fought Ryu before in the PWT.


	6. Green

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! 
> 
> I'm sorry that I updated so late. When I'm writing, I have this system where every time I finish one chapter, I post a new one. The one I just finished is fairly long and the one after that will also be fairly long, so the next chapter will take a while to post. 
> 
> Let me say something I find funny; it took me about five minutes to write this fairly short note. Mainly because I kept adding things and then deleting them because they sounded bad.
> 
> Anyhow, let me wrap this up. I hope you like the new chapter!
> 
> -Jay

“See ya, Red!” Green calls out when Red walks out the gym. Red glances back and gives Green a wave and a slight smile. It makes Green’s heart feel fluttery.

Maybe he should get that checked out. Green’s heard from old Kaneda that a fluttering heart means you’ll die soon.

Or maybe he just ate too many muffins, who knows.

The door slides shut and Green remains there, smiling slightly. Today, he decides, has been a good day.

“How’d your battle go?” Alan says from behind Green. Green jumps - he hadn’t noticed Alan standing there.

“Sheesh, don’t do that!” he says, laughing. “I lost to Red, as per usual. What, you want a play-by-play summary?”

Alan simply stands there, smiling slightly. Green feels a little creeped out. Alan’s smile reminds him a bit too much of Gramps’  _ I-have-an-idea-and-it’s-not-a-good-idea _ smile.

“Alan?” he says carefully. 

“Oh, it’s nothing,” Alan says after a moment. “Just zoned out a little, you know. Comes with age.”

Okay, that’s a lie right there. Alan might pretend to be old and ‘not as smart as I used to be,’ but he’s still extremely sharp. And Alan really isn’t the type of person to zone out.

Still, Green decides not to question it too much. Alan will probably take that as an excuse to tell Green some ludicrous tale and Green has duties. He’s got a job to do. Can’t be wasting time, after all.

“Well, I gotta go,” he says. “Paperwork, battles, you know. Busy person, me.”

_ Seriously? _ he thinks.  _ Did I actually just say that? _

Oh well. Green doesn’t have time to ponder his stupidity. Not too much, anyway.

“See ya, Alan,” he says and the old man gives Green a little wave before slipping back into the shadows. Green smiles at that and turns away, stepping onto a light blue tile and spinning towards one of the platforms.

He arrives at the entrance to his room and pushes open the door, striding inside. The room still bears a few signs of their recent battle - scorch marks on the floor, scratches on the wall, a pool of water on Green’s side of the arena, dust and pebbles scattered about Red’s.

_ I’m going to have to clean this up _ , Green thinks with a sigh. Oh well. He’d rather be cleaning than filling out stupid forms all day. With a sigh, he walks into his office and grabs a vacuum, palming Crawdaunt’s ball in his hand on the way out.

“Hey Crawdaunt,” he says with a smile. “Can you spray down those scorch marks over there?” He points at a couple spots on the floor.

Crawdaunt chatters happily, eyeing the patches of burnt and blackened wood, before opening its mouth and spraying water all over the scorched floor.

“Thanks girl,” Green says, petting Crawdaunt lightly before turning on the vacuum and beginning to clean up the debris. Crawdaunt follows him around, tasering Green with its large pincers and cackling when Green jumps up in shock.

“Fine, you got my attention,” Green says with a sigh, turning to look at Crawdaunt. “Whaddaya want, huh?”

Crawdaunt tilts its head in a mockery of innocence and tries to taser Green again. Green jumps back, out of range of Crawdaunt’s pincers.

He rolls his eyes and laughs, before grabbing a pokeball and letting out Sylveon. “Go play, you two,” he says with a smile. Sylveon squeals happily, ribbons waving, and Crawdaunt chatters. The two pokemon run around the arena, playing what looks to be tag. Green watches them for a moment, smiling, then continues to clean.

Once the room is back to a normal state (he’s going to ignore the sprinkling of fairy dust scattered about the arena), Green walks back to his office and puts the vacuum back in its corner. Then he re-enters the arena.

The first thing he notices is that Sylveon is dripping wet. Water pools at her feet and drips down the walls. The second thing he notices is that Crawdaunt is coated in glitter and looking very irritated about it.

“Sylveon! Crawdaunt!”   
  


Both turn to look at him. Crawdaunt chatters, seeming a bit worried. Sylveon shakes her ribbons and sends droplets of water flying everywhere.

Green sighs, pressing a hand to his forehead. “I just cleaned the arena,” he says. “And you go and mess it up? Seriously?”

Sylveon looks down. Crawdaunt chatters again, softer this time.

Green sighs once more. “It’s okay, you two,” he says. “Just don’t mess it up again, okay?”

Sylveon chirps happily at that, looking up and scattering more water about the room. Crawdaunt cackles and waves its pincers, sending glitter scattering about.

“Alright, you two,” Green says. “Come back.”

Sylveon and Crawdaunt both disappear in the recall beam of their balls and Green tosses out Arcanine’s ball. The fire-type pokemon bursts out with a happy growl and Green smiles.

“You mind helping me dry the room?” he asks. Arcanine swivels its head about, noting the water everywhere, and huffs softly. It closes its eyes before letting out a blast of steaming hot air, making Green stumble back.

“Do that again,” he says. “But wider.”

Arcanine complies, letting out another blast of hot air. The water around the room is beginning to evaporate, and the room starts filling up with steam. Green coughs.  _ It really is getting quite hot in here, _ he thinks.

He grabs Pidgeot’s ball and throws it upwards. Pidgeot swoops out, circling overhead one time before landing next to Green. 

“Defog, Pidgeot,” Green says. Pidgeot swivels its head around, noting the state of the room, then flaps its wings. Hard. A gust of air blows through the room and the steam dissipates.

“Keep doing that, you two,” Green says. “I’m gonna go check something.”

He ducks under a blast of hot air and walks to his office. The cool air is a welcome change from the heat of the arena and Green sighs in relief.

Lying on his desk is the roster of trainers who have decided to challenge Green’s gym today. Green picks it up and scans it quickly.

PokeFan Michael at 9:00… he checks the monitor on his desk. Defeated by Arabella.

Ace Trainer Martin at 9:30….Green beat him.

Youngster Joey at 10:00….Bonita beat him.

Beauty Ida at 11:00….Salma beat her.

Ace Trainer Abigail at 2:00….it’s currently 11:34.

Green stretches his arms above his head and sighs. Well, since there are no trainers coming around anytime soon, he can train.

Standing up, Green walks out of his office and into the arena. The room is now dry and steam-free. Arcanine, he notes, is chasing an alarmed-looking Pidgeot about the room and Green laughs.

“Cut it out, Arcanine,” he calls out. Arcanine stops chasing Pidgeot and bounds towards Green, panting happily. Pidgeot swoops towards Green as well, alighting next to him. 

Green laughs again, ducking away from Arcanine’s attempt at bumping his head and dodging Pidgeot’s beak. “We’re gonna train, okay?” he says, releasing the rest of his Pokemon. Rhyperior lands on the floor with a heavy thud, roaring happily. Crawdaunt cackles, pincers clacking. Sylveon squeals, ribbons waving. Ferrothorn’s vines shoot upwards upon release and it grips the ceiling, swinging about.

“Ferrothorn, come down!” Green calls out. Ferrothorn chitters mischievously, then drops down. Green sighs. Just a couple more dents in the ceiling, then. Oh well.

“Alright, everyone,” Green says. “We’re going to train, okay? There aren’t any more challengers scheduled for a couple hours, so we’ve got some time.”

He looks around, scanning his pokemon. “Sylveon, go with Arcanine. Work on using Mystical Fire, kay?”

Sylveon chirps in affirmation and Arcanine chuffs happily. The two bound off to a corner of the room.

“Ferrothorn!” Green calls out. Ferrothorn perks up. “You and Crawdaunt go work together. Crawdaunt, work on your dodging. Ferrothorn, work on grabs.”

Crawdaunt chatters, clacking its claws. Ferrothorn waves a vine, chittering. The two scuttle off to another corner of the arena and Green sighs. They’re going to dent the floor somehow. Oh well.

“Pidgeot, work on using Steel Wing to cut through rocks,” Green says. “Rhyperior, go with Pidgeot. We’ll work on you mastering Thunderbolt later.”

Rhyperior roars an affirmation and Pidgeot swoops up, charging up its Steel Wing. Green looks over his team of pokemon and smiles.

“Crawdaunt, use your reach to your advantage,” Green calls out. “Unless you’re attacking, stay away. Ferrothorn, you don’t have to remain immobile all the time. Use your barbs to grab onto the wall or climb up.”

Both pokemon nod and Crawdaunt dances back from Ferrothorn’s attempt at a grab, slashing at one of Ferrothorn’s vines to get away. Ferrothorn climbs onto a wall and lashes out at Crawdaunt.

“Sylveon, how’s it going?” Green asks. Sylveon looks up at him and chirps excitedly.

“You got it?” Green asks, raising his eyebrows in surprise. “Wow. Show me, then.”

Sylveon chirps again, then inhales deeply for a few seconds. When she exhales, a burst of pink-tinted flame comes with it. Arcanine growls happily and Sylveon beams, ribbons waving in excitement.

“Nicely done, you two,” Green says, smiling proudly. He pets Sylveon and she chirps. “Good job, Sylveon. Try working on charging up that Mystical Fire faster - steel types won’t wait.”

Sylveon nods with renewed determination and Green smiles again. Any trainer who decides to fight Sylveon with a Magneton or Forretress is in for a big surprise.

“Pidgeot!” Green calls out. Pidgeot slices through another rock and lands on the ground. Both Rhyperior and Pidgeot turn to face him as Green walks over. 

“Good job with your Steel Wing,” Green says. “I’m gonna get you to go work with… hm.”

He still wants Crawdaunt to practice dodging and Ferrothorn is best for that. Crawdaunt is fairly agile now, though, and can take a few hits from a grab. Besides, the majority of Crawdaunt’s moves are close-up physical moves.

“Alright,” he says, having decided what he’s going to do. “Crawdaunt, Ferrothorn, come here!”

Crawdaunt looks up and so does Ferrothorn. The two are locked together in a grapple, but they spring upon hearing Green’s call. Crawdaunt scuttles over to stand next to Green and Ferrothorn swings across the wall, leaving small dents.

“Ferrothorn, go next to Rhyperior,” Green says. “Crawdaunt, you’re going to work on your grabs with Pidgeot. Pidgeot, you’re not allowed to just fly near the ceiling.”

Crawdaunt cackles excitedly, pincers clacking. Pidgeot coos softly, shifting its wings. The two go back to the corner where Crawdaunt and Ferrothorn were.

“Wait here, you two,” Green says to Ferrothorn and Rhyperior. He walks out the arena and turns to head towards the storage room

“Leader!” someone calls. Green turns towards the voice. It’s Alan, spinning rapidly towards Green. Alan lands in front of him and Green raises an eyebrow in a silent question.

“I have a letter for you,” Alan says in response. He hands Green an envelope. 

“Thanks Alan,” Green says, pocketing the letter. “I’ll read it later.”

_ Later _ turns out to be that night, sitting in his backyard. His pokemon are playing in the grass and Green is relaxing against the fence when he remembers: Alan gave him a letter.

He pulls it out of his pocket - it’s a little crumpled but oh well - and rips open the envelope. The letter is folded in two so he unfolds it and scans the sheet of paper, eyes widening.

_ Dear Green Oak, _

_ We invite you to attend the Annual Kanto League Conference being hosted in the Celadon Hotel. The Conference will take place from March 26 to March 31. We expect you to arrive at least two days before the start of the Conference.  _

_The Kanto League Conference will start at 8:00 A.M. and end at 7:30 P.M._ _each day. The League will provide all necessary accommodations (transport not included) such as lodging, food, and room for your pokemon._

_ For additional details, please contact this address:  _ [ _ KantoPKMNLeague@Silph.com _ ](mailto:KantoPKMNLeague@Silph.com) _ or call 888-928-413. _

_ We hope to see you there! _

_ Sincerely, _

_ The Kanto Pokemon League Committee _

_ 1996 Satoshi Rd. _

_ A28 5E23 _

The Annual Kanto Pokemon League Conference.

This would be Green’s first one. Ever. 

Despite wearing just a t-shirt and sweatpants, Green feels hot all of a sudden. The Kanto League Conference is a huge event. As a gym leader, he would be expected to attend. As a former champion of the League, he would be expected to attend. And Green is very nervous about that.

His fellow gym leaders probably don’t think very much of him. The Elite Four, well, Green isn’t sure. Lance seemed friendly enough when he’d come around to inspect Green’s gym. The rest? Green hasn’t seen them in two years. Red would probably be there as well, being the Kanto League champion (and resident legend). And Red - Green doesn’t know how to feel about him. Green doesn’t even know if Red wants to be friends again. If Red didn’t, well, who would Green be to blame him?

Not to mention his grandfather would probably be there too. And their relationship was… fragile. In dire need of support.

Green folds the letter back up and slides it back in the envelope. For a second, he considers just not going. Maybe he could just stay home and pretend he’s sick.

He would have to go, though. He’s expected to be there. As much as Green doesn’t want to go, he can’t let the League down. He’s got to prove that he’s a responsible person who is no longer a jerkwad to everyone and anyone.

With a sigh, Green stands up. “C’mon, guys,” he says. His pokemon pause in what they’re doing and look towards Green. “Let’s go back inside, kay?”

Wordlessly, Green recalls every member of his team, brushes a hand lightly over all their balls, and walks back inside his apartment. It’s 8:57, he notes. Enough time to pack, complete some paperwork, then go to bed.

He’d have to get there on March 24 or earlier, which means he’ll have to leave in a couple days. Green grabs his PokeGear and checks the Kanto map. He’ll be able to bike to Pallet Town, surf south to Cinnabar Island, and then fly west to Fuschia City. From there, he can bike to Celadon City.

It’d probably take about two days and some work for both Crawdaunt and Pidgeot, but he’ll make it. It’ll be like he’s a young trainer again.

Whoopee.

He’s also going to have to tell his trainers, he realizes, and probably shut down the gym for those five days. Hopefully him and his trainers will still receive pay from the League. He should probably message Lance about that.

Green sighs again (he seems to be doing that a lot lately) and heads towards the staircase. He’d better get started on packing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, yeah, I kind of remade Green's entire team.
> 
> Whoops.
> 
> He's got so many different Pokemon that I just went 'screw it' and changed his team entirely. What I headcanon is that Green let some of his Pokemon go after Red defeated him because Green realized that he wasn't treating some of them right. So, yeah.
> 
> I think I'll keep Red's in-game canon team, though.


	7. Red

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hallelujah I'm alive!
> 
> Seriously, though. I am so sorry. Work was really beating me up and the chapter I had to write (not this one, a chapter you'll see later on) was just incredibly long for me. 
> 
> Here is my newest update of Filler Title. This chapter focuses mainly on delving more into Red's psyche. How he feels, his insecurities, his relationship with the Elites.
> 
> I hope you enjoy!
> 
> -Jay

“We’re going to have to go soon,” Lance says one day while they’re eating dinner. “The Annual Kanto League Conference is happening pretty soon and we have to get there by March 22, so we’ll be leaving in, say, two days.”

“How long will it take for us to get there?” Lorelei asks.

“Around one day,” Lance says. “We might have to leave even earlier. It’s an extremely important event.”

Red ducks his head, not meeting anyone’s gaze. Everyone is going. Lance, Agatha, Bruno, Lorelei. Everyone except him.

They’ve told him multiple times that it’s not Red’s fault. It’s not Red’s fault he can’t talk. It’s not Red’s fault he gets frightened around other people. It’s not Red’s fault he can’t deal with the reporters, the media, the attention.

_ But it is, _ a little voice will whisper in his head.  _ It is your fault. You’re a mute. You’re a freak. You should be able to deal with this. _

It’s a voice that sounds suspiciously like Green. Not just like Green’s, like all the trainers’ who’d bullied Red.

_ What, you can’t talk?  _

_ Wow, what a loser. _

_ He’s that weird kid with freaky eyes. _

Red’s normally able to cope with those voices. He’ll ignore them, or occupy himself with something else until they go away. But there are days where those voices drown everything out. There are days where those voices are all that he can hear and nothing can pull him out. 

Today started off nice, but suddenly his chest hurts and his head feels heavy.

“Red?” someone says. It’s Lorelei. “Are you okay?”

Red looks up and nods.

“You’ll be staying at your mother’s house like usual, right?” Lance says. Red nods again.  _ Like usual. _ He might be a good battler, but when it comes to dealing with people or doing the other champion duties?

Useless.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Lorelei asks, eyes widening slightly in worry. “You seem a little sick, dear. Do you need anything?”

Red shakes his head hurriedly. Wordlessly, Lance passes Red a notebook.

_ I’m fine, _ Red writes.  _ Just a little tired, that’s all. _

“Get some rest, then,” Lorelei says. “Don’t worry about paperwork or all that. We’ll handle it, okay?”

Red nods again and stands up, pushing his chair back.

“Put your dishes in the sink,” Lorelei says and Red complies, stacking his bowl on top of his plate, pushing his chair in, and walking to the sink. He goes through the familiar motions of washing his dishes; detergent, water, scrub. Rinse, dry, repeat. 

Once he’s done, he opens a cupboard door, slides the plate and bowl in, and closes the door. Then he walks out the kitchen and up the stairs.

He is tired, suddenly. He feels absolutely exhausted. Red opens the door to his room and immediately flops onto his bed, staring up at the ceiling.

He should close the door, he thinks, but he’s too tired to do so. Worst of all, Red has no idea what brought this sudden feeling on. 

_ You single-handedly took down Team Rocket, _ he tells himself angrily.  _ You beat Lance at the age of ten. Get yourself together. _

“Red?”

Red starts, looking up quickly. Lorelei is standing in the entrance to his room, watching Red worriedly.

“You really do seem sad about something, Red,” Lorelei says gently. She walks over and sits on the edge of Red’s bed. “Is this about the Conference?”

Red blinks in surprise.  _ How’d she figure it out? _ he wonders.

“It is, then,” Lorelei says, noting the look on Red’s face. “It’s really not your fault, Red. Besides, Lance likes doing this sort of thing.” She looks around, then says in a whisper, “Don’t tell him I said this, but Lance is a bit of a drama queen. He wears a cape, for Arceus’s sake!”

That makes Red smile. Lorelei smiles as well, reaching out to pat him lightly on the shoulder. “Get some rest, kay?” she says. “And don’t think even for one second that it’s your fault.”

She stands up and leaves and Red relaxes into his bed, feeling a lot better.

He still misses his mother sometimes, but the Elite Four are his family too and for that, Red is glad.


	8. Green

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!
> 
> So, I'm back with a new chapter. I originally planned to make the Kanto conference one chapter, but then realized that that's way too long and split it up. Not very evenly, as I can see now. 
> 
> Currently, I'm working on starting the main conflict. It's a bit rough. This is one of the first long stories I'll actually complete. Usually, I just write one or two pages then forget all about it. 
> 
> I have nothing else to say, so here you go. I hope you enjoy it!
> 
> -Jay

The League Conference starts off about as well as Green would expect; badly.

Well, maybe he’s over exaggerating. But he’s not over exaggerating  _ that _ much.

Green had arrived in Celadon after two days. Everything had gone as he’d planned; biked to Pallet Town, went south and surfed to Cinnabar Island, healed Crawdaunt at the Pokemon Center there, surfed east then north to Fuschia City, healed Crawdaunt again at the Pokemon Center there, stayed the night in Fuschia City, then woke up the next morning and headed to Celadon City.

Was he tired?

Yes.

Was Crawdaunt tired?

After a near whole day of surfing, probably. But at least Crawdaunt could catch a break now and then.

Could he have flown on Pidgeot? Probably. But Green doesn’t think Pidgeot has enough stamina to do that. Stronger pokemon like Charizard or Dragonite could likely carry Green directly from Viridian to Celadon, but not Pidgeot.

Green biked into Celadon and headed straight for the hotel. All he’d wanted to do was get to his room and go to sleep. He was a day early, anyway, he could do that.

“Hello,” the receptionist said. She’d seemed bored. “You another of those Gym Leaders?”

Green nodded. “I am.”

“What’s your name?” the receptionist drawled, typing something on her computer. 

“Green Oak,” Green said.

“Mmhm,” the receptionist said. “Kay. You’ll be in Room 264 with someone called Blaine.”

Wait.

What?

“With… Blaine?” Green asked, surprised.

“Yep,” the receptionist said, drawing out the ‘e’. “Rooming. Have fun!”

She’d tossed him the key and then promptly turned away, ignoring Green. Green stared at the key for a moment, then with a sigh headed off towards the stairs. He had a roommate.

Wonderful.

_ Don’t be too negative, _ he told himself.  _ Maybe Blaine will be chill-or not, cause, you know, fire-but maybe this won’t be too bad. _

When Green first opened the door, he was greeted with a Growlithe in his chest.

Not that Green doesn’t like Growlithe - he raised one, after all - but getting hit by a Pokemon isn’t always fun. 

“Ah!” he’d said (not yelped), flailing backwards. Green managed to catch himself, but not before getting assaulted by a series of licks and happy barks.

“Hah, sorry!” Blaine called out. “He’s always very excited when someone new comes around.”

“S’okay,” Green said. He tried to sit up and the Growlithe jumped off of him, standing next to Green wagging its tail.

“C’mere, boy!” Blaine called and the Growlithe immediately ran away from Green. Green stood up, brushing himself up.

“Well, then,” Blaine said, “how ‘bout we introduce ourselves? I’m Blaine,” he said, appearing in the entrance, “and- _ oh. _ ”

Green stiffened.

Blaine smiled. “Come on in, young man,” he said. “Didn’t know you were a gym leader. Hah! Who woulda thought?”

Green walked in, feeling tense. Unconsciously, one of his hands dropped down to brush over Sylveon’s ball.

Blaine closed the door behind them and Green, noting the abundance of papers on one bed, decided to take the other. 

“Wise choice,” Blaine said from behind Green. “Growlithe didn’t poop in that one. Yet.”   
  


Green choked in surprise, twisting towards Blaine. “What?” he said.

Blaine cackled. “I’m messin’ with ya, kid,” the gym leader said. “Now. Since you’re a newbie here and I’ve been doin’ this for years, let me educate you.” 

Green nodded. To say he was nervous about this Conference was an understatement. He would like some help, even if it was from probably the kookiest gym leader ever.

“Most gym leaders here don’t like ya very much,” Blaine said. “Except me. You seem like a smart young man and you got through my quizzes pretty fast, so you’re in my good books.”

“Good to know,” Green said. All he has to do is avoid them for five days and it’ll be fine.

“I reckon you should try to make friends with them,” Blaine said, adopting a more serious look. “You’re gonna be workin’ with them pretty soon and it’s best to be on good terms with your colleagues, don’t you think?”

“What do you mean, I’ll be working with them soon?” Green asked, confused and worried.

Blaine grinned. “You’ll see. Now! Quick riddle - what is it that given one, you’ll have either two or none?”   
  


Green groaned. “I don’t know, a glass of water?”   
  


“Not a glass of water, a choice! Why would it ever be a glass of water?”

“A glass of water could work too,” Green pointed out, feeling a little insulted. “What if you drink them all? Then you’ll have no water. What if you combine the two to make a larger glass of water? That's one glass. Or you could just keep them separate and have two glasses of water.”

Blaine beamed. “See, boy? This is why I like you! Hah! No one’s ever done that before!”

Green sighed. Between having Blaine as his roommate and the other gym leaders, he doubted this would be a fun five days.


	9. Red

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, I'm back!
> 
> I've decided to try and keep a semi-steady uploading schedule. I will be trying to add a new chapter every Monday. Semi is the key word here; I'm not the fastest writer and writer's block is a frequent struggle.
> 
> Do you know how awkward it is to look at your own stories? Whenever posting a new chapter, I have to look at Filler Title and check what the previous chapter was. That is so weird. I wrote this. I typed these words. It's even weirder to actually see it online. What? How? When? Does anyone else actually feel this way? I'd like to know. 
> 
> Anyways, I hope you enjoy!
> 
> -Jay

_ Bounce. _

_ Catch. _

_ Bounce. _

_ Catch. _

Red lies on his bed, bouncing a ball off of the wall. His mom is downstairs, humming a quiet tune. 

Coming home made him feel both content and a little sad. On one hand, he was excited to see his mom, Daisy, and Professor Oak again. Pallet Town would always be his home and Red was glad to be back.

On the other hand, Red would be missing (for the third year in a row) one of the biggest League events ever. He would be remaining in Pallet Town for five days, doing absolutely nothing. 

“Red! Lunch is done, honey!” his mom calls out. Red sits up and slides off of his bed, leaving the ball on his old dresser.

He walks out his room and jogs down the stairs. The kitchen smells like fish, vegetables, and spice. Red looks over his mom’s shoulder to see what she’s made.  _ Udon mein. _ His favorite.

“It’s good to have you back, sweetheart,” his mom says affectionately. She pours the  _ udon _ out of the pot and into a bowl. “I’ve missed you.”

Red nods and smiles. He hates that he has to miss the League Conference, but seeing his mom again alleviates some of the pain.

“Eat up, Red,” his mom says, walking towards their small kitchen table. Red follows her. “You’ve grown so much taller since I last saw you. You need to eat more, honey.” She places the bowl on the table and nudges Red into a chair. Red gladly takes the spoon offered to him and digs in. His mom’s  _ udon _ is delicious as always.

_ Are you going to eat anything? _ he signs after finishing half the bowl. He pushes it towards his mom.

“Oh, no Red,” she says, pushing it back towards him. “That’s all for you. I’ve got some rice balls and a nice broth I can eat.”

_ I’m not that hungry, _ he signs.  _ You can have some. _

“I’m not that hungry either,” his mom says with a smile. “I’ll be just fine. You eat that, darling.”

Red feels guilty all of a sudden. He’s tempted to push his mom to eat more, but he knows that she’ll just smile and say no.

So he picks up the spoon again and continues eating. His mom watches him with a quiet smile. They sit together in silence, interrupted only by the sounds of Red eating and the calls of Pidgey and Spearow in the bushes outside.

“Are you still hungry?” his mom asks when he’s done eating. “Do you want more?”

Red shakes his head.  _ You should eat, _ he signs.  _ Eat some of the noodles. _

His mom looks at him worriedly. “You sure, honey? Don’t you want to eat more?”

He shakes his head.  _ You eat, _ he signs. 

His mom sighs and gets up. “You’re growing, Red,” she says softly. “You need more food.”

Red simply sits there and watches as his mom puts some rice balls and vegetables on a plate. She sets the plate on the kitchen counter and then ladles some broth into a bowl.

Satisfied that his mom is going to eat, Red moves to get up. 

“Are you going somewhere, Red?” his mom asks. She sets both bowls on the table and looks at Red worriedly. “Already?”

He had been meaning to go up to his room, but looking at his mom now he decides not to.

_ No, I’ll stay here, _ he signs and sits back down. His mom smiles and sits down as well.

They sit there in content silence and Red smiles.


	10. Green

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a bit of a long one. I skipped most of the Kanto Conference because that would be boring and filler. 
> 
> Hah. Filler. Like my title. I can't help but find that funny.
> 
> Here's my weekly update. I was going to say something, but I forgot what it was, so I will end this now. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy!
> 
> -Jay

Green wakes up on March 30 at why-o-clock in the morning to the smell of smoke.

“Arceus, why,” he mutters, sitting up and looking out the window. The sun is barely up and Blaine is doing who-knows-what. “Blaine!” he yells. “Please tell me you aren’t burning anything.”

“Hah, sorry!” Blaine yells back. “Growlithe got startled when I turned on the electric razor.”

Green slaps a hand to his forehead and groans. “It’s too early for this,” he mutters. 

“Hey, do you happen to have a Water-type on hand?” Blaine yells. 

For a moment, Green is sorely tempted to say no and get back to sleep. But common sense wins out and, deciding that he would rather not get sued for property damage, clambers off of the bed and releases Crawdaunt.

Crawdaunt chatters unhappily, clacking its claws and glaring at Green.

“I know, I know,” he sighs. “But Blaine’s Growlithe somehow set something on fire and he needs help extinguishing it.”   
  


Crawdaunt chatters again, now glaring towards Blaine, before scuttling towards the bathroom. Green follows closely behind.

The bathroom is a bit of a mess. There is, of course, a fire. Blaine’s Growlithe has somehow managed to set several towels alight and Green sighs. Two soap bars, a bottle of shampoo, a bottle of conditioner, and several disposable razors are scattered about on the floor.

“Crawdaunt,” Green says tiredly, “can you put out the fire?”

Crawdaunt glares at Blaine for another moment, then turns towards the burning towels and sprays water all over them. Blaine’s Growlithe jumps back, growling at the feeling of water on its fur, then runs towards Blaine.

The fire now extinguished, Crawdaunt turns the full force of its angry stare on Blaine and Blaine’s Growlithe. Blaine raises his hands in surrender.

“Eat him, Crawdaunt,” Green says. “I’m going back to bed.”

Crawdaunt cackles, clacking its pincers in glee and stalks towards Blaine and Growlithe. 

“Woah there,” Blaine says, stepping back. “What is that? A new species of Pokemon? I’ve never seen anything quite like it!”

“That’s a Crawdaunt,” Green says. “Water-Dark type. Known to be very violent and dangerous.”   
  
Crawdaunt puffs up in pride at that, pausing for a moment to flex its pincers. 

“They’re native to Hoenn, Unova, Sinnoh, and Kalos,” Green says, before holding out a hand. “Come back, Crawdaunt. Don’t actually eat them.”

Crawdaunt chatters disappointedly, glaring at Blaine and Growlithe for another second before returning to Green’s side. Green lightly rubs the star on Crawdaunt’s head and smiles when Crawdaunt cackles happily.

Training Crawdaunt was definitely a lot of work. But it was worth it.

“Thanks Crawdaunt,” he says, before returning Crawdaunt to its pokeball.

“Well,” Blaine says after a moment, “that was fun.”

Green is extremely tempted to bring Crawdaunt back out and unleash its wrath on Blaine. But he restrains himself.

“I’m going to get changed,” he says instead, heading towards his bag. “Don’t set anything else on fire. Please.”

Blaine smiles apologetically. “Can’t guarantee anything, sorry.”

Green holds back a groan of frustration and grabs a random pair of pants and a t-shirt. They all look the same anyway. It doesn’t really matter.

Thankfully, Blaine doesn’t set anything on fire after that. 

Breakfast is an uneventful affair, just as Green hoped. He’s sandwiched between Lt. Surge and Blaine, the latter of whom is regaling the whole table with random Pokemon facts.

“…and did you know that Rapidash can reach a speed of 150 mph after just ten steps? It’s incredible!”

“That it is,” Brock says, trying (and failing) to sound interested. 

“I feel sorry for whoever has Blaine as a roommate,” Misty mutters in an undertone. Then she looks straight at Green, glares, and says, “Never mind. I don’t.”

Green is tempted to throw some insult back at her - _he’s a better roommate than you, at least he_ _doesn’t complain all the time, your all-out offensive water pokemon strategy lost to Blaine and his fire-type pokemon, isn’t that funny?_ \- but he refrains from doing so. 

_ See, Gramps? I can be mature. _

Instead, he simply takes another bite of his eggs and ignores Misty’s glare. 

After breakfast are the exhibition matches. It’s easily Green’s favorite part of the whole conference. The last four days had been so boring. All they did was sit around long tables and talk about boring nonsense. Admittedly, there was one day where they got to set up stations around the hotel lobby and talk about raising pokemon instead of other whatnot, but still.

Lance puts them into pairs and has them battle. Green is paired up with Bruno and they stand on opposite sides of the pitch, surrounded by a crowd of cheering trainers.

The noise goes to his head, runs through his blood and Green grins, already gripping Pidgeot’s ball. “Ready to lose?!” he calls out, shouting over the noise of the crowd. Bruno simply grunts, making a show of glaring and flexing his muscles. He plays the strong silent type well, Green thinks. There’s always some element of showmanship to being a trainer. There’s always some role you have to fill. 

The crowd cheers even louder and Green makes a show of spinning around, throwing Sylveon’s ball high up into the sky. Sylveon leaps out with a bright cry, landing gracefully on the field and flaring its ribbons in a show of colour. 

Bruno nods silently and sends out his own pokemon with much less flair than Green. Hitmonchan leaps out of its ball, fists up and ready. It dances about on the field, tracking Pidgeot with sharp eyes.

It’s a fun fight. Bruno’s pokemon are well-trained and there are times when Green gets worried. But ultimately, Bruno’s Machamp faints and Green beams. Sylveon trills proudly, ribbons fluttering in the open air. Bruno simply nods again, recalling Machamp.

“Great job, Sylveon!” Green calls. Sylveon trills even louder, darting back towards Green.

“Winner: Green Oak!” the referee calls. Green recalls Sylveon with a smirk, brushes his bangs out from his eyes, and poses with a hand on his hip. The crowd goes wild and Green soaks up the attention gladly.

Call him a narcissist, but he’s the type of person who loves the spotlight. Shove him on a stage in front of a bunch of flashing lights and Green will feel perfectly at home. 

Attention-seeking? Maybe. But oh well. 

Later that night is the League-hosted party. Naturally, all gym leaders are expected to be in at least semi-formal attire. Green is wearing what could pass as formal attire (it’s not his fault, his only suit was covered in soot and glitter) and Blaine is wearing what looks like it could be a tuxedo. Green has to stifle a laugh at Blaine’s face when Lance tells him that  _ no, Blaine, you are not allowed to set off fireworks at an indoor party, why would you do that anyway? _

It’s a fairly boring party. There are tables set out across the room with food on top. There is also, Green notes, a lot of alcohol. He’s not allowed to touch a single drop, being fifteen and all. Lorelei makes sure to steer him and other underage trainers away from those tables whenever any of them gets too close.

Green wanders about the room, holding a plate with a fruit kebab, sushi, and a random macaron that Blaine had deposited on his plate for no reason (Green’s a little scared to touch it). He talks to trainers who come up to him, gives them tips on raising their pokemon. One young trainer with black hair and bright eyes comes up to Green, looking nervous, and wordlessly holds out a pokemon. It’s an Eevee. Green takes the Eevee, pets it soothingly. He looks at the trainer. There’s a question in his eyes.

“Do you know about all the things Eevee can evolve into?” he says. The trainer shakes his head no, but looks at Green as if saying,  _ go on. _

Green is suddenly reminded of Red. It’s uncanny, the resemblance. They have the same spark in their eyes, the same iron strength in their shoulders.

He mentally slaps himself.  _ Not now, Green. _

“Eevee has eight different evolutions,” he says. “Vaporeon, Flareon, Jolteon, Leafeon, Glaceon, Espeon, Umbreon, and Sylveon. They’re all different types. Vaporeon is water, Flareon is fire, Jolteon is electric, Leafeon is grass, Glaceon is ice, Espeon is psychic, Umbreon is dark, and Sylveon is fairy.”

The young trainer looks a little confused. “H-how,” he stutters. Green waits.

“H-how do they-they evolve?” he finally says. Green does his best to smile reassuringly.

“Have you heard about evolution stones?” he says. The trainer shakes his head no. Green returns the Eevee to its trainer and smiles.

Green and the young trainer (whose name is Alex) talk about Eevee and its evolutions. At one point, they end up sitting against the wall. Green tells Alex about Sylveon, the newest discovered Eeveelution.

“Sylveon is a fairy type,” he explains. “Fairy types are weak to poison and steel, immune to dragon, and resistant to dark, fighting, and bug. Certain Eeveelutions only occur when the pokemon and the trainer have an extremely close bond and Sylveon is one of those pokemon.”

Alex nods, eyes fixated attentively on Green’s face. They talk for a long time. Well, Green talks for a long time about things he’d discovered about pokemon and research that he’d done in Kalos.

Eventually, Alex’s dad comes along and Alex has to go. Green stands up, gives Alex’s Eevee one last pet, and waves goodbye. Alex waves back, eyes bright and Green smiles.

_ He really is like Red. _

The room is mostly empty now, save for the gym leaders, Elite Four, and a few trainers. Green looks around the room and wonders, not for the first time,  _ why isn’t Red here? _ Red’s the champion of Kanto. If anyone should be here, it would be him.

Green sighs and looks around. Maybe he could ask someone.

“Lance?”

Lance turns to look towards Green. “What is it?” he asks. Green runs a hand through his hair, now feeling a bit nervous.

“How come Red isn’t here?” he says. “I mean, he’s the champion.”

“Red… doesn’t handle crowds very well,” Lance says carefully. “So I’m here to represent him.”

Green hesitates, then decides to just say it. “Is there any way I could get in contact with Red?” he asks. 

Lance eyes Green for a few uncomfortable seconds, then says, “I could give you his Pokegear number.”

Green nods. “That’d be great, thanks.” He unclips his Pokegear and asks, “What’s his number?”

“75-867-6903,” Lance says. Green hums to himself, typing in the number. He debates on giving Red some stupid-sounding name, but eventually just settles for, ‘Red’.

Maybe he’ll change it later, but who knows.

“Thanks,” Green says. Lance nods and walks away, pulling out his Pokegear as well. Green wonders who he’s texting-or who texted Lance. Could be either.

He checks the time. 9:12. There’s still time, he decides. Red probably isn’t asleep. Hopefully.

Green closes his Pokegear and clips it back to his belt. Most of the gym leaders are leaving, so Green follows suit. He exits the large room, walks to the elevator, accidentally goes to floor 3 instead of floor 2, goes down a floor, then enters his room.

Thankfully, it doesn’t look like anything is on fire this time. Green relaxes, walking across the room and flopping on his bed. Blaine isn’t here yet, so Green unclips his Pokegear and turns it on.

He taps the little bubble that says ‘Contacts’ and taps on ‘Red’. Then he pauses. What should he say?

He’s nervous for some reason and Green doesn’t even know why.  _ Come on, _ he tells himself.  _ It’s Red. The guy wouldn’t care at all. _

Eventually, Green just decides to text  _ ‘hi, this is green’. _

Red’s reply comes surprisingly quick. _ ‘Hi. how did u get my #?’ _

_ ‘lance gave it to me.’ _

_ ‘oh. k.’ _

Green bites his lip (he’s nervous, why is he nervous?), then types out a question and presses ‘Send’.

_ ‘do you want to go somewhere with me? to hang out or something?’ _

_ …  _

_ …  _

_ ‘Sure’ _

_ ‘Where’ _

Green smiles. 

_ ‘i’ve been wanting to go to seafoam islands. there’s apparently some sort of legend concerning articuno connected to seafoam islands. i want to inspect it.’ _

_ ‘Sounds grt what time?’ _

That makes Green pause for a moment. He hadn’t really considered what time. __

_ ‘how about the coming sunday?’ _

That would be about two days from now. Green hopes Red has Sundays off. If Red doesn’t, well, Green can’t decide whether that’s sad or stupid. Probably both.

_ ‘works 4 me.’ _

_ ‘ok. sunday, then? I’ll come get you.’ _

_ ‘sure.’ _

“Who ya textin’, kid?”

Green yelps in shock, jumping nearly a foot into the air. “Gah-Blaine!” he says, embarrassed. “It’s no one.”

“No one, hah? Then whatcha smilin’ about?”

Green glares at Blaine. “Nothing,” he snaps. Blaine chuckles to himself, then, with surprising speed, snatches Green’s Pokegear from his hand.

“Hey-give it back!”

“Hmm… Red, eh? You gettin’ close with our champion, kid?”

Green feels his cheeks flame. “That’s none of your business!” he snaps, reaching for his Pokegear. Blaine chuckles again, letting Green take it back.

“You didn’t deny it,” Blaine chortles.

“We,” Green hisses through clenched teeth, “are friends. That’s. All.”

“If you say so,” Blaine says, a grin on his face.

Green exhales in irritation and turns off his Pokegear, clipping it back to his belt. He is, once again, extremely tempted to feed Blaine (and his stupid freaking Growlithe) to Crawdaunt.

“I’m going to shower,” he says. Maybe it will help him calm down. Blaine grins, a glint in his eye, but thankfully doesn’t say anything. 

_ Good. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, I remember what I want to say now. Did you know that Growlithe weighs exactly 19 kg? 
> 
> Yeah, random, but I can't help but think that someone like Blaine would know this. Poor Green, having to suffer through all that trivia. :)


	11. Red

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, fun fact. We're getting towards the end, so hurray!
> 
> I actually finished the chapter I was working on early, so I spent the remaining time planning and editing. I have a separate document for planning. It's a mess of asterisks, quotation marks, and brackets. Sometimes I'll look over my plan and just wonder what I was thinking. It's always very confusing.
> 
> Anyhow, I hope you enjoy this chapter! Buckle in tight, because it's a wild wild ride, and as a disclaimer the information in this chapter is not medically accurate so please do not sue me.
> 
> -Jay

On Sunday, Red walks downstairs and exits the League quarters. He’s excited to see Green again.

The past week had been more exciting than he’d expected. Professor Oak was working on an important project and needed someone to go do field research. Red had agreed. He’d spent the week hunting through caves, catching multiple Chansey and Clefairy. Some were oddly coloured and used different moves than other Chansey and Clefairy, which was what Red assumed Professor Oak was studying. Pikachu and Espeon had proved to be very helpful.

He walks out the big double doors of the Indigo Plateau and looks upwards. There’s a shadow in the sky that closely resembles a Pidgeot. Moments later, Green comes diving down and alights on the ground in front of Red, hair windswept and eyes glittering.

“Hiya, Red!” Green says, grinning as he jumps off of Pidgeot. “Are you ready to go?”

Red nods and summons Charizard. The dual type growls, stretching its wings and eyeing Pidgeot with suspicion. Pidgeot turns away, ruffling its feathers haughtily, and Red stifles a laugh.

“Yeah, they have some sort of weird rivalry,” Green says, looking amused. “I’m pretty sure Ferrothorn hates your Snorlax. And Rhyperior always gets an angry face whenever Lapras is mentioned. Anyhow, let's go!”

_ Impatient as always. _

Red nods and climbs on top of Charizard. Green climbs back on Pidgeot and with a murmured word from Green, Pidgeot swoops up into the sky.

Red taps Charizard’s shoulder and points. Charizard eyes Pidgeot’s silhouette for a brief second, then flies up towards Pidgeot and Green. The aerial view of Kanto is beautiful as always, the sunlight reflecting off of the buildings.

“We’re heading southeast, towards Viridian City,” Green says. “I’m not going to fly all the way. Pidgeot can’t carry me for as long as a Charizard or Dragonite can, so we’ll stop there and bike to Pallet Town, then surf to Seafoam Islands.”

Charizard growls proudly upon hearing that, giving Pidgeot a mocking look. Red’s lip twitches up as Pidgeot lets out an irritated coo.

“Hey, cut it out Charizard,” Green says, giving Charizard an indignant look. “Pidgeot isn’t as big or heavy as you, you know. He’s made for speed. Show them, Pidgeot.”

Pidgeot coos, narrowing its eyes, before speeding up suddenly and arrowing past Red.

“Catch up,  _ Champion _ !” Green calls out mockingly, glancing back at Red with a grin. “It’s not all about bulk, ya know.”   
  


Red tilts his hat down and narrows his eyes towards Green, tapping Charizard’s shoulder.  _ Tailwind. _

Charizard looks up and growls in recognition. A wind blows from behind them and Charizard speeds up, flying towards Green and his Pidgeot. They pull up just behind Green, but Green calls for Agility and Pidgeot speeds past them once more. 

Sadly for Charizard, Green and Pidgeot are first to land in Viridian City, standing proudly behind Green’s gym. Red rolls his eyes when Green gives him a smug look. “See? Pidgeot isn’t bulky, but he can outspeed you any day.”

_ Biking to Pallet Town? _ Red signs pointedly. Charizard rumbles in agreement, looking a little unhappy with its loss.

“Yeah, yeah,” Green says with a laugh. “Come back, Pidgeot.”

Pidgeot disappears in the red light of its recall beam. Red pats Charizard on the shoulder, then recalls his flier as well.

“Let’s go,” Green says, pulling his folding bike from his bag. “Come on, Red. I wanna get there when the tide is low.”

Red nods and pulls out his own bike, unfolding it. Green gets on his bike and starts riding towards Pallet Town. Red follows suit.

The journey to Seafoam Islands is a pleasant one. Green rambles on about the legendaries from different regions and what they are supposed to represent.

“Kalos has three guardian legendaries,” he says, gesturing animatedly. “Xerneas, Yveltal, Zygarde. They’re called the aura trio, did you know? Xerneas is life, Yveltal is destruction, and Zygarde is order. Zygarde is actually really fascinating. Professor Sycamore and I did some research into the lore surrounding Zygarde. We found some carvings in a cave depicting what we believe to be the forms of Zygarde.”

Red simply watches Green, content to just sit on Lapras and listen to his rambling. 

Looking forwards, he notices an outline starting to appear on the horizon. It looks like two twin hills.

He hesitates, but shifts over and brushes a hand over Green’s shoulder. Green pauses in his rambling and looks over at Red. “What is it, Red?”

Red points towards the hills and signs,  _ Are those the Seafoam Islands? _

Green looks over and visibly brightens. “Yep! Those are the Seafoam Islands.” He grins at Red. “I’ve heard that there are some murals there describing Articuno. Are you excited to see them?”

Red shrugs. He is a little excited. Green’s enthusiasm is infectious.

“Let’s go, then,” Green says. “Have you ever been inside the Seafoam Islands? I’ve heard that they’re absolutely stunning.”

Lapras clambers up onto dry land and Red slides off.

_ Thanks, Lapras, _ he signs, patting Lapras’s head affectionately. Lapras chirps happily, butting Red’s hand. Red scratches Lapras behind its horns, smiling, then recalls her and looks towards Green.

Green is watching him, one hand on his hip and the other holding his Pokegear. “We gonna get there before we turn eighty or what?” he asks with a sort of mock impatience. “C’mon, Red. The caves are waiting!”

Red rolls his eyes again but walks towards Green.  _ Let’s go,  _ he signs.

Green snorts. “Finally,” he mutters, turning to walk towards the caves and hoisting his pack higher. 

“So, do you know about the legendary birds?”

Red shakes his head.  _ Not really,  _ he signs. He knows their names, of course, but not much beyond that.

“Apparently,” Green says, “they were created by Lugia. Oh yeah-Lugia is the guardian of the seas. Weird, cause Kyogre was supposed to be the creator of the seas, but whatever. So, Lugia created and is basically the master of Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres. And according to Professor Elm, the ice and fire of Articuno and Moltres are the ‘source and cradle of the sea’ - whatever that means - and Zapdos’ electricity are the source of currents and streams. It’s cool, but weird at the same time. This way.”

Red follows Green down a set of ledges and through some grass. Green glances at his Pokegear and then takes a right turn, disappearing into the brush. There’s a quiet thump. Red goes right as well, pushing aside the bushes and Green isn’t there.

Huh.

He makes his way through the grass, looking for Green, then starts when something taps his ankle. It’s a stick.

A laugh - unmistakably Green’s - comes from  _ below _ Red?

“Down here, buddy,” Green says. Red can hear him smirking. “C’mon, jump. It’s not that far.”

Red looks towards Green’s voice and - oh. There’s Green’s silhouette, waving a branch from who knows where. Red pushes aside some bushes and steps onto a hidden ledge.  _ How did you find this? _ he signs, confused.

“I’m the one with a map, remember?” Green says. “It told me to go left and so I did. Didn’t expect the ledge or the jump, though.”

Red nods, then jumps down from the ledge and lands on the sandy ground. They’re standing at the mouth of a cave, water lapping near their feet.

_ How come we couldn’t surf here?  _ he signs.

“Blocked,” Green says. “There are some very dangerous whirlpools and rock formations guarding the way. I’m not risking a pokemon using whirlpool - you could get very badly hurt doing that.”

Red nods again and they fall silent for a moment.

“Let’s go,” Green says suddenly, heading towards the cave. “C’mon, Red. Don’t you want to see what’s inside?”

Red doesn’t answer, following behind Green. They enter the cave mouth and Green pulls out a flashlight. Red sends out Pikachu, who immediately climbs up Red’s leg to sit on his shoulder.

_ Flash, _ Red signs, and Pikachu nods, glowing. A circle of light surrounds both Green and Red. 

“I suppose that works,” Green says wryly, putting his flashlight back. “Let’s go, then. The levels higher up should be more well-lit.”

Red nods and they start walking. Green leads them in a random path through the cavern, occasionally pointing out some pokemon tracks or a carving on the wall. 

“We’re currently below sea level,” he says, “but the tide is low. We have some time, but we still have to find a way up.”

_ I could send Pikachu to scout for us, _ Red offers.

“Nah, I got this,” Green says with a grin. Pikachu huffs, skeptical, and Red gently scratches Pikachu behind its ears. He’ll let Green keep searching for now, but if they don’t find it in about ten minutes he’ll let Pikachu go scout.

Thankfully, Green finds a way up in the next few minutes and they climb a set of jagged rocks. Green leads Red along a narrow ledge (a bit too narrow for Red’s liking) and they walk along a path towards another set of jagged rocks. Pikachu nuzzles Red’s cheek, sending a small burst of static down Red’s skin. Red scritches Pikachu’s ears lightly.

“C’mon, this way,” Green says. As if Red needed a reminder. He follows Green up anyway. The rocks are rough and gritty beneath his hands.

Above the rocky path they’d climbed is the entrance to the second level. Green’s already standing there and Red wonders how he’s so fast.

“You first,” Green says with mock courtesy, grinning. Red snorts and walks through the entrance, Green following just behind him.

They’re on the second floor now.

“Wow,” Green breathes, sounding stunned. “They weren’t exaggerating, huh.”

Red agrees. 

The second level is absolutely beautiful. The cave walls are covered in ice and sparkle softly. Jagged stalactites and stalagmites also made of ice decorate the ceiling and floor. A path made of ice winds its way across a gently rippling pool of water. The whole place feels peaceful and pure. 

“It definitely looks like a place Articuno would live in,” Green says, stepping up next to Red. “Look closely at the walls. There’s something carved on them.”

Red squints towards the walls and nods. There  _ is _ something carved there. 

“I wanna get a closer look,” Green says, hand twitching towards Red’s for a moment. “C’mon, Red. Let’s go. And be careful - some of the ice here will crack if you put too much weight on it.”

Red frowns, now feeling a little nervous. Pikachu shivers, chirping softly, and Red decides to recall Pikachu. It’s bright enough that he can see anyway. A beam of red light and Pikachu disappears. 

Green is already standing at a wall, about two meters from Red. Red puts Pikachu’s ball back in his pack and walks towards Green.

“Look at that,” Green says, tracing a finger delicately over a carving of a bird-like figure. “I think, based on the shape of the wings, that it might be Lugia. And the one next to it… hm.”

Red steps up close to Green and peers at the mural. The bird-like figure is flapping its wings towards the ground. What looks like a wave is carved in an arch over it. The figure next to it is diving towards the ground, what looks like fire trailing behind it.

“It should be Ho-Oh,” Green says. “This might be related to the creation of the Legendary Birds and the Legendary Beasts.”

_ Legendary Beasts? _ Red signs.

“Entei, Suicune, and Raikou,” Green says. “According to lore, they were created by Ho-Oh. Three Pokemon died in a fire at Ecruteak Tower and Ho-Oh reincarnated them. Some say that they’re the reincarnations of Jolteon, Vaporeon, and Flareon.”

Red nods.  _ How do you know all this? _ he signs. He’s definitely heard of Entei, Suicune, and Raikou, but he’s never known that they were called the Legendary Beasts or the lore behind them. Professor Oak’s assistant had called them the Legendary Dogs. Funny name, in Red’s opinion.

“I traveled around the world after losing to you,” Green says bluntly. “Went to Johto, then Kalos, then Sinnoh, then Unova. I learned a lot, actually. And I saw a lot of new Pokemon too. You’d like them, I think.”

Red nods.  _ Can I see one? A picture? _

“Sure,” Green says, sounding pleased. He fishes around in his backpack, then pulls out a PokeDex and turns it on. “Have a look.”

Red scrolls through the list of regional PokeDexes, intrigued. Knowing that they both completed the Kanto PokeDex, he selects the Johto one. Most of them are from Kanto as well, but he notes a few interesting Pokemon, such as the Houndour-Houndoom line.

They spend quite some time on the second level, Red looking through information on different Pokemon (and noting which ones he wanted to catch if it was possible) and Green walking about the cave, examining the murals. Red’s fairly sure he saw Green taking notes once or twice.

“Alright, let’s head up to the next level,” Green declares, having finished his tour of the carvings. Red glances up for a moment upon hearing Green’s voice, then looks back down. “C’mon, Red. I wanna see what’s up there.”

Red pauses in scrolling through the Kalos Pokedex, shifting his shoulders slightly, and looks at Green.  _ I’m almost done with the Kalos dex, _ he signs.

Green snorts. “You’ll run through what’s left of the Kalos dex, then stay here looking through the Pokemon I’ve seen in Sinnoh and Unova,” he says. “It’ll still be here when we leave, y’know. But we can’t stay in the Seafoam Islands forever.”

Red doesn’t respond, continuing to just look at Green. Green holds his gaze stubbornly, long fingers tapping in a 1-2-3-5-4 pattern along his arm.

“Fine,” Green says finally, relenting. “You can finish the Kalos dex, but then we’re going to the next level, okay?”

Red nods and signs  _ Thank you _ to Green, smiling slightly, then continues looking through the Kalos dex.

“Yeah, yeah, you’re welcome,” Green mutters, moving to lean against the wall next to Red. “Whatever.”

Red scrolls through the information on the last few Pokemon. 

_ Altaria - the humming Pokemon _

_ Height: 1.1 meters _

_ Weight: 20.6 kilograms _

_ Type: Dragon-Flying _

_ Evolves from: Swablu _

_ Evolves into: N/A _

_ Found in: Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, Kalos _

_ It’s singing is said to be more beautiful than that of a Jigglypuff’s. It also apparently shoots fireballs from its beak. I’m a little skeptical about the first part. I mean, really? I’ve heard an Altaria’s cry and trust me, it isn’t all that special. The fireballs part is true, though. Trust me. _

Red snorts at that.

Altaria did seem interesting, though. He wonders if Lance would want one. Shooting fireballs f

rom its beak would definitely help against irritating ice-types.

The last few Pokemon are mostly dragon-types, he notes. After Altaria is Druddigon, a funny fossil-like creature, then Deino, Zweillous, and Hydreigon, the Dratini line, and then the Kalos legendaries. For some reason, Mewtwo is there too. He didn’t know Mewtwo could be found in Kalos.

Minutes pass.

“Are you done yet?” Green asks, sounding less impatient this time. Red looks up. Green is facing him, leaning against the ice wall, fingers still tapping against his arm.

_ Apparently Mewtwo can be found in Kalos, _ Red signs instead of answering. Green smiles, looking relieved.

“You’re done, then,” he says. “Yeah, apparently Mewtwo can be found in Kalos. I don’t know why either.”

Red nods and pushes himself off of the wall, handing the PokeDex back to Green.  _ Let’s go, then, _ he signs. Green lets out an exaggerated sigh of relief, straightening and putting the PokeDex back in his bag.

“Finally,” he says, stretching out the ‘i.’ “Let’s move.”

Red follows Green on the winding path across the water. They enter another room, one with little carvings, and Green leads them up a set of rocks and onto the third level.

The third level is even more beautiful than the second level. The floor is entirely made of ice and slopes up and down. Ice stalactites hang from the ceiling. Water flows in from another cave in a wide river and branches out into smaller streams, winding across the icy floor. 

“There’s a mural on that wall,” Green says, pointing forwards. “C’mon, Red, let’s go see it.”

Red is dragged through the cave on a twisting path around patches of cracked ice and over the streams of water. The floor is slippery and Red almost falls several times, but thankfully Green is there to help him out. 

“This way,” Green says, gesturing. “Watch your step, Red. Wouldn’t want you falling, hm?” He looks back at Red, eyes glimmering.

Red nods, feeling his cheeks warm slightly. Green grins and they walk through the cave at a slightly slower pace, winding between patches of thinner ice and around large boulders. 

They’re crossing over a stream of water when Red notices something funny. Something’s glowing very faintly and he moves away from Green, pausing to try and get a closer look.

“Hey, Red, you coming or what?” Green calls out from about a meter away. Red looks towards Green.  _ Coming, _ he signs, and walks towards him.

As they walk to the next cave, he spots the strange glow again. He wonders what it is. The glow is a bit distorted and Red can’t quite tell what color it is. Probably blue. Everything here is blue.

They carefully make their way around the river, edging past on a narrow ledge of ice. Red wonders why they can’t just surf there. He supposes Green just likes the risk of potentially falling into a river. 

“I think this is the last cave we’ll visit,” Green says, looking down at his Pokegear. “I would like to get back to Viridian sometime around noon, ya know? And I’m sure you have work and all, Red.”

Red nods, not bothering to sign anything, mainly because his hands are occupied with keeping his balance. Green doesn’t seem to care about that, though, laughing openly at him. “It’s not that narrow, Red. You won’t fall.”

Red gives Green a look. He knows that he’s not going to fall, but that doesn’t take away the nagging fear that he will.

“Sorry, sorry,” Green says, raising his hands in mock surrender. “Are you okay with this?”

Red nods, stepping carefully towards Green. Green grins. “Yeah, you got this,” he says, jumping down and walking forwards confidently on the cave floor. “C’mon, then.”

Red shuffles the last few steps, then jumps off and lands next to Green.  _ Where to? _ he signs.

“That way,” Green says, pointing towards the opposite end of the cave. “Try not to fall, kay?”

_ He’s joking _ , Red thinks, but Green glances back at him for a split second, looking very serious.

“Follow me,” Green says, walking carefully across the ice floor. Red nods, trailing behind Green -  _ there _ .

The odd glow is clearer now. It’s a shade of cerulean blue, blending in neatly with the rest of the cave. It’s coming from some strange-looking object. The shape is rather distorted, since it's hidden behind a piece of ice next to a rushing river.

He glances at Green, who is moving towards the back wall of the cave, and quickly walks up to catch up to him. Green glances back at Red, tilting his head. 

“You good?”

_ Fine, _ Red signs. Green’s eyes narrow for a moment, then he smiles again.

“Sweet. I think we’ve come across the biggest carving.”

He points towards the back wall of the cave, which is completely covered in one large mural. Red notices the familiar shape of Articuno carved in the middle. Two other shapes fly next to it - Zapdos and Moltres. Above Articuno is what Red guesses to be Lugia, wings spread wide.

“It looks like there’s another path there,” Green says, pointing to the wall on their right. “You think we’d have time to explore it another day?”

Red shrugs. 

“Eh,” Green says, carefully picking his way across the ice. “It’s mostly safe here, just don’t slip.”

Red nods and then glances back towards the glowing blue thing. Green’s attention is completely fixed on the large mural.

He glances at Green, then turns and starts walking towards the glowing thing, trying not to step on the visibly cracked ice. He steps over a patch of cracked ice and towards the glowing thing.

The shape is clearer, now that he’s gotten closer. _It_ _looks_ _familiar_ , Red thinks. He’s pretty sure it’s a water stone, but who knows.

He takes another step forwards, not noticing how the ice beneath him is cracking, and crouches down.

And then he falls.

The water beneath him is freezing cold and he just manages to grab onto the ice. It’s slippery and cold and Red starts to feel numb. His jacket isn’t enough to keep the chill out and he tries to let go of the ice. If he could just reach Lapras’ ball… 

He pries one of his hands off of the ice and tries to reach down into the water. The current is strong and Red struggles to hold on. The water is freezing as he reaches in to try and get Lapras’ ball. 

His hand slips, though, and he loses his grip on the ice and the current sweeps him away, tossing him about like a ragdoll. A wave of water crashes over his head and he chokes, instinctively trying to get to the surface. 

Red’s just glad that he no longer feels cold; a strange numbness has spread through his muscles. His vision is becoming fuzzy and he can barely move.

Not for the first time, he curses his inability to speak. If he could just talk, yell for help, he wouldn’t be in this situation.

“Red!”

That’s Green, Red realizes, though his voice is sort of muffled by the sound of water. An orange pincer clamps down on his torso and he’s lifted out of the water and onto a warm surface. Something hits his back, hard. Once, twice, and Red is coughing out water, expelling it onto the ice floor.

He’s exhausted now, slumping back into the warmth, eyes fluttering shut.

“Red. Red. Stay awake, you idiot. Why didn’t you listen to me?! You have to be careful!!”

_ He sounds mad _ , Red thinks sadly.  _ That’s my fault. _

“Red. Red.” Green’s voice is quieter now. “Look. I’m sorry for yelling, kay? But you gotta be careful around this place.”

Red tries to nod and Green audibly sighs. A warm finger presses against his neck.

“This isn’t good,” Green mutters. “Your pulse is too weak and you’re shivering. Arceus, Red, what were you thinking?”

Red pries one of his eyes open and gestures feebly.  _ Blue glowing thing, _ he signs, trying to point towards what he’d seen.

“Blue glowing thing,” Green repeats skeptically. “Blue glowing thing. You risk your life for a blue glowing thing?!”

Red flinches back.  _ Sorry _ , he tries to sign, though it probably comes out more like  _ Soy. _

“It’s okay,” Green says. “Look, I can try and get it for you. Wait here, okay?”

Red doesn’t move. He doubts he could if he tried anyway.

Minutes tick by. He closes his eyes again, feeling tired. His chest feels tight.

“Here,” Green says. Warm fingers press against Red’s neck again, a small shock point of sensation. Then something smooth is being pressed into his hand. “This is what you were trying to see. It was buried fairly deeply under a layer of ice, but Crawdaunt got it out.”

Red tries and fails to close his hand around the object.

“It’s a water stone,” Green says. “Arceus. You risked your life for a _water_ _stone_.”

His brain feels fuzzy.  _ What’s he talking about? _ His breaths come out in short bursts.

“Red? Red, you okay there buddy? Re-!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just another final word; I'm debating between writing a prequel to this story and writing a completely new one altogether. I'll probably work on the completely new one first, because the idea is still fresh in my head, but I will try to plan both of them. If I do ever post either, I hope you'll like them!


	12. Green

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I've got something to say.
> 
> I've started to progress into the end of my story and I've decided it's no longer going to end with Green and Red being in a romantic relationship. Sorry about that.
> 
> It just doesn't work. The path I planned out for my story doesn't allow romance. The way I've built the plot doesn't lead up to anything more than friendship. The point of my story was to describe them mending their relationship and growing as people, but Red isn't ready for a relationship emotionally and neither is Green. That requires story acrobatics I'm not good enough to do yet and romance just wouldn't make any sense at all.
> 
> Maybe I'll write a sequel. Who knows. But for now, here is the twelfth chapter of Filler Title. 
> 
> Hope you like it!
> 
> -Jay

Green swoops around the Indigo Plateau building, waiting. The wind brushes through Green’s hair, and he smiles at the feeling. 

Pidgeot coos softly, and Green looks downwards. It’s a little faint, but he can see what he guesses to be Red.

“Sweet,” he murmurs to himself. “C’mon, Pidgeot. Down there.”

Pidgeot swoops upwards one more time, then tucks in its wings and dives towards the ground. Green holds on, leaning forwards over Pidgeot’s head and grinning. _They've got the_ same _dramatic_ _streak_ , he muses.

He points and Pidgeot adjusts its course slightly, landing directly in front of Red. Green jumps off of Pidgeot’s back, feeling his smile widen. 

“Hiya, Red!” he says. “Are you ready to go?”

Red nods, a slight sparkle in his eyes, and releases Charizard. Charizard stretches its wings, growls, and side-eyes Pidgeot with suspicion. Pidgeot turns away, ruffling its feathers in irritation. Red’s lips press together, ruby-like eyes crinkling upwards slightly.  _ Amusement _ , Green thinks.

“Yeah, they have some sort of weird rivalry,” Green says. “I’m pretty sure Ferrothorn hates your Snorlax. And Rhyperior always gets an angry face whenever Lapras is mentioned. Anyhow, let's go!”

Red simply nods, climbing on top of Charizard. Green gets back on Pidgeot’s back and with a murmured command, they soar up into the sky. Red flies up a few moments later, eyes flicking around.

“We’re heading southeast, towards Viridian City,” Green says. “I’m not going to fly all the way. Pidgeot can’t carry me for as long as a Charizard or Dragonite can, so we’ll stop there and bike to Pallet Town, then surf to Seafoam Islands.”

Red’s Charizard growls pridefully, shooting Pidgeot a mocking look. Pidgeot tenses slightly, cooing at Charizard in irritation.

“Hey,” Green says, giving Charizard a look, “cut it out Charizard. Pidgeot isn’t as big or heavy as you, you know. He’s made for speed. Show them, Pidgeot.”

Pidgeot coos in response, relaxing its muscles and then speeding up suddenly, shooting past Red. 

“Catch up,  _ Champion! _ ” Green calls out mockingly, grinning back at Red. “It’s not all about bulk, ya know.”

Red tilts his hat down and a moment later, Charizard flies up close behind Pidgeot. Green doesn’t let Red overtake him, however, calling for an Agility from Pidgeot and they arrow past Red.

“C’mon, Pidgeot,” Green says. “Let’s get there before Red. Charizard might be stronger, but we’re faster. Right?”

Pidgeot seems to nod, tucking its wings in slightly and accelerating. Looking back, Green can see the figure of Red and Charizard starting to catch up. There seems to be something boosting Charizard’s speed. 

It doesn’t matter, though. Green wins anyway.

He’s grinning as he directs Pidgeot to land behind his gym - don’t want any  _ attention _ , after all. Green slides off of Pidgeot’s back and strokes its feathers. Red lands a few moments later, his face a mix of unhappiness and irritation. He rolls his eyes when Green flashes him a smug grin. 

“See? Pidgeot isn’t bulky, but he can outspeed you any day.”

_ Biking to Pallet Town? _ Red signs rather pointedly. Charizard growls in agreement.

Green is tempted to tease them more, but one look at Red’s face and he decides against it. Red’s just beginning to warm up to him, after all.

“Yeah, yeah,” he says, laughing slightly at the disgruntled look on Charizard’s face. “Come back, Pidgeot.”

Pidgeot disappears in a flash of red light. Red pats Charizard on the shoulder and then recalls Charizard. 

“Let’s go,” Green says, pulling out his folding bike. He’s very proud of his bike - it has withstood the test of Green’s stupidity time and time again. “Come on, Red, I wanna get there when the tide is low.”

Red nods in agreement and pulls out his own bike, unfolding it. They both mount their bikes and start pedaling to Pallet Town.

Viridian City is rather far from Seafoam Islands, but the trip doesn’t actually seem that long. The time passes quickly, with Green filling the moments of silence (read: all silence). Red simply listens and nods along as Green talks, occasionally signing a brief reply. It  _ is  _ a little strange talking to someone who can’t actually respond, but it’s not too bad. 

He’s explaining the Kalos legendaries when he feels Red tap his shoulder. Green pauses in his rambling and looks over to him. “What is it, Red?”

Red points forwards with one hand and signs,  _ Are those the Seafoam Islands? _

Green looks to where Red is pointing and smiles.

_ Sweet. _

“Yep! Those are the Seafoam Islands.” He grins at Red. “I’ve heard that there are some murals there describing Articuno. Are you excited to see them?”

Red simply shrugs, a slight smile twitching at the edge of his lips. 

“Let’s go, then,” Green says. “Have you ever been inside the Seafoam Islands? I’ve heard that they’re absolutely stunning.”

They arrive on land. Crawdaunt clambers up onto the beach and Green jumps off, rubbing a hand across Crawdaunt’s forehead in thanks. Crawdaunt chatters softly and Green smiles, then recalls Crawdaunt.

Red is, of course, still petting his Lapras. Green watches them for a moment. If he’s being honest, he’s rather jealous of how close they are. He never had that sort of bond with his Pokemon. Not until now, anyway.

Putting a hand on his hip, Green pulls out his Pokegear and quickly checks the map. Out of the corner of his eye, he spots a red flash of light - likely Red returning his Lapras.

Looking at Red, he adopts an impatient expression. “We gonna get there before we turn eighty or what? C’mon, Red. The caves are waiting!”

Red rolls his eyes, but walks towards Green.  _ Let’s go,  _ he signs, walking up to Green. Green snorts, turning towards the caves and starting to walk towards it. “Finally,” he mutters, hoisting his pack a bit higher.

He’s not sure what he should say here. Red seems a little annoyed with him.

“So, do you know about the legendary birds?”

Red shakes his head.  _ Not really, _ he signs. 

“Apparently,” Green says, “they were created by Lugia. Oh yeah-Lugia is the guardian of the seas. Weird, cause Kyogre was supposed to be the creator of the seas, but whatever. So, Lugia created and is basically the master of Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres. And according to Professor Elm, the ice and fire of Articuno and Moltres are the ‘source and cradle of the sea’ - whatever that means - and Zapdos’ electricity is the cause of currents and streams. It’s cool, but weird at the same time. This way,” he adds, directing Red down a set of ledges and into a patch of tall grass.

He takes a look at his Pokegear; right turn, forwards, and then go left. Green looks back up and goes right, pushing his way through a thicket of brush. He checks his map again, takes a few steps forwards, and then turns left, making his way through some more bushes.

Instead of a way forwards, though, Green finds himself standing on a hidden ledge. Below him is the beach, waves lapping at the sandy shore.

_ Huh. _

Green shrugs, checks his map, then jumps down from the ledge and lands on the sand. It’s not that big of a jump, he notes, about a meter and a half.

Footsteps sound above him and Green glances up. It’s not very clear, but he thinks that he can see a bit of Red’s jacket and maybe his cap. Red’s figure walks right past where Green is standing and Green gets an idea.

He picks up a random branch lying on the beach and when Red walks by, deliberately pokes Red’s ankle.

Red jumps slightly and Green laughs. “Down here, buddy,” he says, snickering. “C’mon, jump. It’s not that far.” He waves the branch so that Red can see him.

A moment passes, and then Red appears on the ledge. Green tilts his head to look at him.  _ How did you find this? _ Red signs, eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

“I’m the one with a map, remember?” Green says. “It told me to go left and so I did. Didn’t expect the ledge or the jump, though.” He lets the branch fall from his hand and moves a bit to the right.

Red nods and then jumps down from the ledge, landing beside Green. He looks around the beach, then towards the cave mouth and signs  _ Why couldn’t we just surf here? _

“Blocked,” Green says. He’d originally planned to surf directly to Seafoam Islands, but a quick check online had told him that that was a bad idea. “There are some very dangerous whirlpools and rock formations guarding the way. I’m not risking a pokemon using whirlpool - you could get very badly hurt doing that.”

Red nods. Green presses his lips together, drumming his fingers lightly on his right arm.

“Let’s go,” he says, turning to walk towards the cave mouth. “C’mon, Red. Don’t you want to see what’s inside?”

He doesn’t look back, striding forwards. Faint footsteps sound behind him. They both enter the cavern and Green reaches for his flashlight. Red summons Pikachu, who scampers up Red’s leg and onto his shoulder.  _ Flash, _ Red signs, and they’re surrounded by a circle of light.

“I suppose that works,” Green says. Seeing as he has no need for his flashlight now, he puts it back into his bag. “Let’s go, then. The levels higher up should be more well-lit.”

They walk in a winding path through the caves, Green pointing out carvings on the wall that he saw or Pokemon tracks (mainly Zubat or Psyduck tracks). Red simply stayed silent and nodded along, eyes moving from Green’s own eyes to the walls or floor.

“We’re currently below sea level,” Green says, “but the tide is low. We have some time, but we still have to find a way up.”

He sort of regrets not downloading a map of the cave system now, but it doesn’t matter. If all else fails, he’ll get Arcanine to figure a way out.

_ I could send Pikachu to scout for us, _ Red signs. 

Green flashes Red a quick grin. “Nah, I got this,” he says. He doesn’t, but they’ll figure a way up. Hopefully.

Pikachu huffs, giving Green a look, and Red reaches up to scratch Pikachu behind its ears. Green decides to ignore Pikachu and keep on searching. He knows Red will probably send Pikachu to scout anyway, being the more logical person, but hey. They can still wander around lost for a bit, right?

Eventually, though, Green does find a way up. It’s not exactly a staircase or a ladder, but Green has climbed through plenty of mountains in Sinnoh. A couple sharp rocks are easy to handle.

They scale the rocky wall, Green easily taking the lead. At first he’s careful not to go too far in case Red needs any help, but Red seems perfectly fine on his own so Green speeds up a bit and they make it up onto a ledge. Red’s eyes hold a hint of nervousness as they edge their way along the narrow ledge, but it disappears once they’re on wider ground. Green decides not to comment on it.

“This way,” he says instead, pointing towards another, smaller, set of jagged rocks. Red’s footsteps sound softly behind him as Green walks towards the set of rocks. Green arrives at the top first and Red gets up there a few minutes later, standing a bit behind and to the left of Green. The entrance to the second level is directly in front of them.

“You first,” Green says, injecting his voice with mock courtesy. He has  _ manners _ , after all. Red snorts at that, but walks through the entrance anyway and Green follows.

“Wow,” he breathes as he enters. “They definitely weren’t exaggerating, huh.”

The second level is absolutely  _ stunning _ .

The cave walls and floors are covered in ice which sparkles in a soft silver-blue shade. Stalactites and stalagmites decorate the cave, glittering. A pool of water is in the center of the cave and a path of ice winds across it. Green’s eyes zone in on the carvings decorating the walls, noting the different shapes and patterns. He’s drawn to a particular mural on the leftmost wall, depicting several bird-like figures.

“It definitely looks like a place Articuno would look in,” he muses to himself, stepping up to stand next to Red. “Look at the walls. There’s something carved on them.”

Red tilts his head forwards a bit and then nods in agreement.

“I wanna get a closer look,” Green continues. His fingers instinctively twitch towards Red’s, but he stops himself in time. “C’mon, Red. Let’s go. And be careful - some of the ice here will crack if you put too much weight on it.”

Pikachu chirps softly as Green walks forwards, moving to stand in front of a mural depicting the Kanto-Johto legendaries. There’s a flash of light out of the corner of his eye, and then Red is standing next to him.

“Look at that,” Green says, reaching out to trace a finger over what resembles Lugia. “I think, based on the shape of the wings, that it might be Lugia. And the one next to it… hm.” He trails off, a little uncertain. 

The figure next to Lugia is diving towards the ground, flames trailing behind it. It could potentially be Moltres, he thinks, but… 

“It should be Ho-Oh,” Green continues. “This might be related to the creation of the Legendary Birds and the Legendary Beasts.”

_ Legendary Beasts? _ Red signs.

Why Red doesn’t know the Legendary Beasts, Green isn’t sure. But he doesn’t comment on it.

“Entei, Suicune, and Raikou,” Green says in response. “According to lore, they were created by Ho-Oh. Three Pokemon died in a fire at Ecruteak Tower and Ho-Oh reincarnated them. Some say that they’re the reincarnations of Jolteon, Vaporeon, and Flareon.”

Red nods and signs a question:  _ How do you know all this? _

“I traveled around the world after losing to you,” Green says. 

Saying it out loud still sends a twinge of regret through his heart, but it doesn’t matter. What’s done is done.

“Went to Johto, then Kalos, then Sinnoh, then Unova. I learned a lot, actually. And I saw a lot of new Pokemon too. You’d like them, I think.” 

_ Red would probably like some of the starters _ , Green muses. His own personal favorites were Piplup and Snivy. Proud little bastards, they were.

Red nods again.  _ Can I see one? A picture? _

Green smiles. “Sure,” he says, fishing out his Pokedex and turning it on. He’s fairly proud of his Pokedex; he’s gathered quite a bit of information on Pokemon from around the world. “Have a look.”

Red takes the Pokedex with an intrigued smile, tapping at the screen with nimble fingers. Green decides to let Red just look through the Pokedex without bothering him and goes off to look around the cave. 

The carvings around the cave are rather varied, he notes. There are large murals, depicting the Kanto-Johto legendaries. There are patterns etched into the walls, ranging from elaborately carved hieroglyphs to simple lines and swirls. His personal favorite is a depiction of Raikou summoning lightning with its rain clouds - Raikou looks somehow like it has a very poofy mustache.

Once Green’s done inspecting the whole cave (and maybe a few others), he crosses the central pool of water and walks towards Red. The person in question is leaning against the wall, still scrolling through Green’s Pokedex.

“Alright,” he declares, “let’s head up to the next level.” Red doesn’t even bother moving, eyes flicking up to meet Green’s for a brief second before flicking back down to the Pokedex.

“C’mon, Red,” Green says, feeling a bit exasperated now. “I wanna see what’s up there.”

This time Red actually looks at Green, shoulders shifting slightly.  _ I’m almost done with the Kalos dex, _ he signs.

Green snorts at that. “You’ll run through what’s left of the Kalos dex, then stay here looking through the Pokemon I’ve seen in Sinnoh and Unova,” he says. “It’ll still be here when we leave, y’know. But we can’t stay in the Seafoam Islands forever.”

Red doesn’t respond, just stares at Green with probing (and slightly hopeful) ruby eyes. Green stares back stubbornly, tapping his fingers against his arm, determined to outlast Red.

Unfortunately, he’s never been good in a battle of patience.

“Fine,” Green says eventually, feeling himself relent. “You can finish the Kalos dex, but then we’re going to the next level, okay?”

Red nods and signs  _ Thank you _ with one hand, a slight smile appearing on his face. 

“Yeah, yeah,” Green mutters, feeling a hint of - well, something - in his chest. “You’re welcome.” He moves to lean against the wall, facing Red, fingers tapping idly on his arm.

Silence.

Green shifts slightly, relaxing his shoulders. The rhythmic sound of water lapping at the ice floor stands out in the quiet. He chances a peek at what Red is reading; it’s the dex entries on Altaria. Fluffy little demon-dragons, they are.

Red snorts at something, tilting his head, then continues scrolling down. Green leans his head against the ice wall - it’s cold, but whatever - and stares upwards. The ceiling slopes gently upwards, then back down again. He unconsciously taps out a random pattern on his arm, simply standing there as the minutes tick by.

“Are you done yet?” he asks eventually, turning his head to look at Red (hey, that rhymed!).

_ Apparently Mewtwo can be found in Kalos, _ Red signs. Green smiles at that.

“You’re done, then,” he says.  _ Finally. _ “Yeah, apparently Mewtwo can be found in Kalos. I don’t know why either.”

Red nods and pushes off of the wall, passing the Pokedex back to Green.  _ Let’s go, then, _ he signs. Green quickly shoves the Pokedex back into his backpack and straightens up, letting out a rather exaggerated sigh. “F _ i _ nally,” he says. “Let’s move.”

He leads them across the water and into another cave. Green’s already been in this one - nothing too special, just some pictures of the ocean - so he leads them to a set of frost-coated rocks and they begin to climb.

The third level is, somehow, even more sparkly than the second.

The entire floor is made of ice, sloping up and down. Stalactites hang from the ceiling. A river flows in from a cave to their left, wide at first but then splitting into several smaller streams that branch out across the floor of the wide cavern. Green’s eyes roam the cave walls, searching.

“There’s a mural on that wall,” he says, pointing. “C’mon Red, let’s go see it.”

Red follows Green on a winding path through the cave, dodging patches of cracked ice and traversing streams of water. He’s careful to keep an eye on Red in case he slips, ready to catch him if need be. As it turns out, Red isn’t quite as balanced on ice as Green is. It’s rather entertaining.

“This way,” Green says, gesturing. He looks back at Red, grinning. “Watch your step, Red. Wouldn’t want you falling, hm?”

Red nods, shifting awkwardly. Green stifles a laugh and leads Red around at a slower pace, avoiding patches of thinner ice. He crosses a stream and then glances back. 

Red’s not there, he notices. Red’s standing on the ice bridge, staring at something Green can’t quite see.

“Hey, Red, you coming or what?” Green says. Red looks back at Green hurriedly.  _ Coming, _ he signs, crossing the bridge in a few swift steps to stand next to Green.

The mural is fairly simple. It’s a picture showing the creation of the legendary beasts - the burning tower, the silhouettes of the dead Pokemon, Ho-Oh descending from the sky and reviving them into Entei, Raikou, and Suicune. Green studies it briefly, reaching up to brush a finger over the carving of Ho-Oh. He wonders when this was made.

Red, he notes, seems to be getting a little antsy. Green pulls himself away from the mural and decides to go to another cave. Maybe there will be something more interesting to Red there.

The next cave is, unfortunately, home to a very wide river that blocks the entrance. Luckily, both Green and Red have Pokemon who can surf.

Unluckily, Green’s an idiot and he decides that edging over the river on a narrow ledge of ice is a better idea. 

While they make their way across the ledge, Green pulls out his Pokegear to check the time. 11:12.

“I think this is the last cave we’ll visit,” he decides. “I would like to get back to Viridian sometime around noon, ya know? And I’m sure you have work and all, Red.”

Red nods, seemingly more focused on keeping his balance than responding. Green laughs. “It’s not that narrow, Red. You won’t fall.”

The look Red gives him is a mix between irritation and exasperation. Green raises his hands in mock surrender. “Sorry, sorry,” he says. He pauses for a second, then adds, “Are you okay with this?”

Red nods firmly, stepping closer to Green and Green smiles. “Yeah, you got this,” he says, jumping down and walking forwards confidently on the cave floor. He hopes he sounds reassuring. “C’mon, then.”

Red takes a few more steps, then jumps down and lands next to him.  _ Where to? _ he signs.

“That way,” Green says, pointing to the opposite wall of the cave. He can see a rather large and elaborate picture carved there. “Try not to fall, kay?” He looks back at Red, hoping he comes off as serious and not joking around. All the water has to come from somewhere, after all. The ice, though it looks sturdy, has visible imperfections. 

“Follow me,” Green says, walking forwards carefully. He steps around the patches of thin-looking ice, mentally plotting a path towards the back mural. There’s a bridge of ice that spans one of the rivers running through the cavern and Green picks his way across carefully.

He arrives on a wide patch of ice and, sensing someone behind him, looks back. Red is standing there, looking a little … Green’s not sure.

“You good?” he asks, glancing back towards Red.

_ Fine, _ Red signs. Green tilts his head slightly, considering, then mentally shrugs and decides not to ask. He’s not privy to all of Red’s thoughts, after all.

“Sweet. I think we’ve come across the biggest carving.”

He gestures backwards. Red’s eyes follow the line of Green’s hand, scanning the mural on the back wall.

“It looks like there’s another path over there,” Green says, pointing to his right. “You think we’d have time to explore it another day?”

No response.

“Eh,” Green says, carefully picking his way across the ice. “It’s mostly safe here, just don’t slip.”

The mural is… interesting. Lugia appears to be fighting Ho-Oh, swirls of fire and water clashing together in a vast storm. The Legendary Birds and Beasts are, also, fighting. Articuno is flying next to Lugia, shooting some beam-things towards what is likely Suicune. Zapdos is shooting lightning at Entei, who is shooting fire right back. Moltres is being electrocuted by Raikou (oof). Clouds have gathered above Lugia and Ho-Oh is surrounded by a vortex of fire.

Green shifts slightly, reaching forwards to trace a finger over the carving of Lugia and once again wonders why Lugia isn’t part water-type. The mural very clearly depicts Lugia controlling the ocean, after all.

Weird.

Green turns for a moment to see where Red is and, what do you know, he’s not there.

He’s not very surprised; Red has never cared much for the theoretical side of things. Though, he muses, history isn’t necessarily  _ theory _ .

Out of the corner of his eye, he notices something bobbing in the river. Frowning, he walks towards it as -  _ Red. _

Green is frozen for a split second before his mind and body finally sync up and realize -  _ this is bad. _

“Crawdaunt!”

The Rogue pokemon bursts out in a flash of light and immediately turns to Green, sensing his worry.

“Surf,” Green says, pointing to the river. Crawdaunt swiftly slides over and into the water, presenting its back. Green climbs on and they begin to swim.

Red’s cap is getting further and further away as they move and Green grits his teeth. Crawdaunt isn’t exactly the fastest Pokemon and the water’s temperature makes it more sluggish than usual. They won’t get there in time.

An idea comes to mind and he tightens his grip. “Crawdaunt!”

Crawdaunt chatters in affirmation, sounding slightly shaky. There’s no time to worry about that right now, though. “Use Aqua Jet to get forwards quickly.”

A beat passes, then Crawdaunt suddenly lunges forwards with blinding speed. Green presses himself flat against Crawdaunt’s back as they shoot forwards and then stop. Red’s limp body is drifting in front of them.

“Red!” he calls out, hoping for some sort of reaction. Green curses under his breath. Red might already have gone unconscious. He needs to get him warm. Fast.

Arcanine is out, standing heavily on the cave floor, and Crawdaunt plucks Red’s body out of the water on Green’s command. 

“There,” Green says, pointing to where Arcanine is now sitting. Crawdaunt swims to the edge of the ice and deposits Red’s body heavily on the floor. Green quickly gets off of Crawdaunt and eases Red into Arcanine’s fur.

Red’s eyes are closed and there’s drops of water trailing down his face. Green moves one hand to support Red’s torso and then hits Red’s back, trying to make him cough out the water that is likely in his lungs.

A few hits and Red starts coughing. Water comes out in small drips at first, then in one mighty heave it all spills out. Exhausted from his body’s effort, Red slumps back into Arcanine’s fur.

“Red. Red. Stay awake, you idiot,” Green says, trying not to panic. A surge of anger overwhelms him and he snaps, “Why didn’t you listen to me?! You have to be careful!!”

“Red. Red,” Green says, feeling guilty suddenly. “Look. I’m sorry for yelling, kay? But you gotta be careful around this place.”

A slight jerk of the head is all he gets. Green lets out a sigh, moving to check Red’s pulse. It’s weak, but there and Green is grateful for that. Crawdaunt scuttles up to him, passing Green Red’s cap, and he absently rubs Crawdaunt’s star in thanks.

“This isn’t good,” he says, mostly to himself. “Your pulse is weak and you’re shivering. Arceus, Red,” he says, feeling his voice grow in volume, “what were you thinking?”

One of Red’s eyes flutters open, peering up at Green hazily. One of his hands moves, signing out the words  _ Blue glowing thing,  _ while the other points feebly towards the other end of the cave.

“Blue glowing thing,” Green repeats, feeling a mix of skepticism and anger. “Blue glowing thing. You risk your life for a blue glowing thing?!”

Red visibly flinches back at Green’s tone, eye closing again, and Green forces himself not to flinch as well.  _ Sry, _ Red signs, and Green sighs again. 

“It’s okay,” he says, quieter. “Look, I can try and get it for you. Wait here, okay?”

The river currents are strong, but so is Crawdaunt and with Aqua Jet at their disposal Green makes it to the ‘Blue glowing thing’ after around seven minutes. Crawdaunt treads water with its hind legs as it works out the ‘Blue glowing thing’ with one of its front pincers. 

The layers of ice break and Green reaches out, palming the ‘Blue glowing thing’. It’s a water stone.

_ Fu- _

“Let’s get back, Crawdaunt. Aqua Jet,” he says, suddenly tired. Crawdaunt chatters softly and then shoots towards where Red is lying. Green gets off, recalling Crawdaunt, and kneels next to Red.

“Here,” he says, checking Red’s pulse quickly. It’s faint, but there. He presses the water stone into Red’s hand.   
  


“This is what you were trying to see. It was buried fairly deeply under a layer of ice, but Crawdaunt got it out.”

Red’s fingers twitch and Green sits back, sighing softly. “It’s a water stone. Arceus. You risked your life for a water stone.”

No response. Red’s chest rises slightly, then falls, then stops moving.

“Red? Red, you okay there buddy? Red!”

Green presses his fingers into Red’s neck. It’s still there, thank Arceus, but Red’s not breathing.  _ Red’s not breathing. _

He has to get Red to a hospital. Fast.

Red’s body is surprisingly light when Green picks him up and climbs on top of Arcanine. “Dig,” he commands. “Quickly!”

Arcanine lets out a hurried bark, then immediately starts digging. Green holds on to Red tightly as they fall, plunging through layers of ice, rock, and earth. They arrive on the sunny beach of Seafoam Islands, water going all the way up to Arcanine’s belly.

Green quickly recalls Arcanine, not wanting to hurt the fire type, then summons Pidgeot. “Get us to the nearest hospital,” he commands, climbing on top of Pidgeot’s back. “As fast as you can.”

Pidgeot caws in affirmation, beating its wings and taking off into the sky. Green checks Red’s pulse and presses his lips together.

“Faster,” he says. “Agility, Pidgeot. As much as you can.”

Pidgeot nods, muscles tensing then relaxing in quick succession. He holds on to Red firmly as they accelerate, shooting forwards. Green scans the ocean beneath him, looking for the familiar roofs of a city.

_ There. _

“Pidgeot. Dive.”

Pidgeot nods again, tucking in its wings and accelerating into a steep dive. Green directs them to land directly in front of the hospital, jumps off, and recalls Pidgeot.

The staff at the hospital are fairly welcoming at first, but their eyes widen when they see Red cradled in Green’s arms.

“He’s unconscious and breathing erratically,” Green says in a rush. “He needs medical care.” When they don’t say anything, Green draws himself to his full height and glares at them. “Now.”

That snaps them to attention and they nod. “This way,” a young woman says, ushering Green through a door labeled ‘EMERGENCY’. She grabs a wheeling table and takes Red’s body from Green, depositing him there, then connects several tubes to Red’s arm and places a breathing mask over Red’s mouth. “I’m sorry, but you can’t come with us.”

Green nods, feeling his chest tighten. “Can you give him this when he wakes up?” He passes the nurse Red’s cap.

“Of course,” the nurse says.

“Oh - don’t let  _ anyone _ know he’s here,” Green adds. “He won’t like it.”

The nurse nods firmly. “I won’t,” she says. “You’ll have to come in and tell us later what happened to him, obviously.”   
  
Green nods. “I’ll wait,” he says.

The nurse nods and then disappears through the door. Green stands there for a moment, lips pressed together, then walks back to the waiting area and plops himself down on a chair. 

He should have realized Red wasn’t there in the first place. He should have heard Red falling.

_ You couldn’t have, _ a voice whispers.  _ The sound of the river masked his footsteps. You wouldn’t have heard him falling. _

_ But you should have, _ another voice whispers and Green presses a hand to his forehead.

Red will be okay. Red  _ has  _ to be okay. He’s the champion of Kanto, death be damned. It’ll be fine.


	13. Red

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so here is the next update! 
> 
> I've been trying to finish the story and I have the ending all planned out, but I still have a ways to go. Final stretch, though. Final stretch.
> 
> It's always so weird, copy-pasting my chapter over to here. I have to scroll through all my document and see all my writing. And, like most other writers/artists/musicians I've met, I do not like my own writing. It's so strange, seeing what I've done and knowing that I did this. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy!
> 
> -Jay

There’s something covering Red’s mouth.

He shifts, opens his eyes, and moves a hand to touch his face. The thing covering his mouth feels like a sort of mask. Attached to it is a tube connected to some sort of machine. 

Sensations start trickling in, bit by bit. There’s an odd beeping sound coming from above his head. His right arm feels a little funny. A quick inspection reveals that there’s a thin tube coming out of it, connected to a plastic bag on a metal pole. Sunlight spills in through the window. The bed he’s lying on smells sort of like the antiseptic he’d used to treat Lapras’ wounds when she’d gotten injured. 

He’s in a small room. There’s a door to his left and a table close to the bed. Sitting on top of the table is his hat, looking a little battered but still intact. To his right, there’s a large window.

The door knob twists, and a nurse walks in, footsteps sounding clearly against the floor. She stops when she notices Red looking at her, and then smiles.

“You’re awake,” she says, walking to stand next to the bed and crouching to look him in the eye. “How are you feeling on a scale of one to ten? Any shortness of breath? Any pain? Discomfort?”

Red blinks, his brain needing a moment to register the questions, then raises eight fingers and shakes his head ‘no’.

“Eight out of ten, then. Good,” the nurse says. “No to what? No to shortness of breath?”

Red shakes his head again. 

“No to pain?”

Again, he shakes his head.

“No to discomfort?”

He shakes his head.

“No to… what, then? All of them?”

Red nods.

“Alright. Perfect. I’m quickly just going to remove this…” She walks around the bed and fiddles with a few tubes, then removes the mask from Red’s mouth and unplugs the machine it’s connected to. Red watches as she expertly wheels the machine around the bed and out the door.

A few moments later, the door knob turns again. Red is expecting it to be the nurse or perhaps a doctor, but instead of that, his mom enters. Then Lorelei and Bruno, Agatha and Lance, and Green all troop in. The door shuts behind them.

“Red!” his mom says, half-running half-walking towards him. She grabs a nearby chair and sits down, reaching out to cup his face in her hands. “Are you okay? How are you feeling?”

Red nods and carefully signs  _ Fine. _

“When I heard from your friend that you were in the hospital, I was so worried,” his mom says, shaking her head and looking at Red with a slightly teary smile. “We were all worried.” She brushes a gentle kiss over his cheek, then pulls back and smiles gently. “Don’t do that to us, sweetheart.”

“You have to be more careful,” Lorelei says, pulling up another chair to sit next to Red’s mom and reaching out to brush a stray lock of hair out of his eyes. “We need to know you’re safe, Red.”

Bruno crosses his arms and stares at Red sternly. “We worry,” he says. “Don’t make us worry.” Agatha, standing next to him, reaches out with her cane to lightly rap him on the head.

“Reckless, just like that other boy,” she scolds. “You risked your life for that water stone. But those sorts of trinkets aren’t worth it.”

Lance moves to stand next to Lorelei and crouches, looking Red in the eye.

“How do you feel on a scale of one to ten?” he asks. “Any problems breathing or feelings of lightheadedness?”

Red raises eight fingers and shakes his head twice. Lance nods. 

“Good,” he says, sounding relieved. “I brought all of your Pokemon here.” He stands and sets six Pokeballs on the table next to Red’s bed. “They’re very worried about you, you know.”

Red reaches towards the table, managing to grab Venusaur’s ball. His mother picks up the other five and hands them to him, smiling affectionately. Red cradles the Pokeballs, allowing a slight smile as they rattle in his arms, clinking together. Warmth fills his chest at the show of concern from his Pokemon and his family.

He glances up and his gaze connects with Green’s, red meeting hazel. Green looks rather awkward, standing with his arms crossed in the corner, but upon meeting Red’s eyes offers Red a slight smile and a wave.

Red wonders why Green’s just standing there, not doing anything. Green’s always so outgoing, so  _ loud _ . Why would he be quiet now?

Green breaks his gaze after a few moments, finding sudden interest in the wall, and Red realizes that Green feels guilty.

_ Why? _

“Red?” That’s his mother. He looks away from Green and towards her. “You okay, sweetheart?”

Red nods, glancing from her to Green for a brief moment. He hopes Green’s okay. It seems wrong somehow, that Green’s so quiet. Unnatural, even.

It make his heart sink slightly.

“He worries about you, too,” his mother says, realizing who he’s looking at. Lorelei snorts quietly and his mother gives her a look. “It’s true. Green was the one who brought Red to the hospital.” 

Red blinks in surprise, chancing a look towards Green. His cheeks warm and he signs a quick  _ Thank you _ to Green. Green signs  _ You’re welcome _ back, flashing Red a quick smile.

“Anyway,” Lance says, pulling Red’s attention away from Green, “we can’t stay here much longer. I have to fill in for you as Champion and there are meetings scheduled for today.”

Red bites his lip. He really wishes that the Elite Four could stay a bit longer, but he shouldn’t keep them from their work. 

“I’m sorry,” Lorelei says. “We should be back in perhaps a few hours.”

“Well-” Lance starts, but Lorelei cuts him off with a glare. 

“In a few hours, Lance,” she says sternly and Lance nods hurriedly. “Yes, of course. In a few hours.”

Agatha snickers and Red’s mom laughs softly. “You all can go,” she says. “I’ll stay here with Red.”

“I can stay, too,” Green says suddenly, causing everyone in the room to turn and stare at him. “I mean - well - I took the morning off and - yeah.”

Lance narrows his eyes at Green, looking a little suspicious. “Are you… sure. If you don’t want to, you don’t have to.”

Green shakes his head. “I’ll stay,” he says, sounding more assured now. 

“That would be wonderful,” Red’s mom says, interrupting whatever Lance was about to say. “Please, come join us.”

Green’s eyes meet Red’s for a moment, then he nods and walks over, perching himself lightly on the bed next to Red. Silence reigns for a moment.

The door opens and everyone immediately turns to look towards it. It’s the nurse from before. She’s carrying a tray and pauses, seeming surprised at seeing such a large gathering.

“Oh-hello,” she says. “You have visitors, I see.”

“We were going to leave in a few minutes,” Lance says.

“Hm,” the nurse says. “Are you Lance of the Elite Four, by any chance? I’ve seen you in newspapers now and then.”

“Yes, I am,” Lance says neutrally, voice shifting to his intimidating-dragon-master one. “It would be great if you don’t tell anyone the Elite Four or champion are here.”

“I won’t, don’t worry,” the nurse says calmly. “Confidentiality is important, especially for people of your status.” 

She walks towards Red and places the tray on the table. “That’s medicine. Your body isn’t equipped to handle solid food yet, so you’re receiving nutrients from the IV.” Picking up a cup, she pours out some of the medicine and holds it out for Red. “Drink this.”

Red tries to sit up and his mother reaches out to help him. “Give it to me,” she says, holding out a hand. Wordlessly, the nurse hands it over and Red’s mom places the cup to Red’s lips. “Drink, sweetheart,” she says.

Red reaches up and tilts the cup, swallowing it down. The liquid tastes sort of sweet and has a bitter aftertaste. He settles carefully back on the bed, feeling tired. The nurse picks up the tray, reaches out and rests her hand on Red’s forehead for a second, then leaves.

“Well,” Lance says, sounding a little awkward, “we have to go.”

_ You’ll be back in a bit, right?  _ Red signs.

“You’ll be back in a bit, right?” Red’s mom and Green say at the same time. Green snorts and Red’s mom laughs, both of them sharing an amused look.

“Yes, we will,” Lance says. “I’ll see you in a bit, Red.”

“Get as much rest as possible,” Lorelei says, standing up. “Take care of him, Delia.”

“Of course,” his mom says.

“Don’t be so reckless,” Agatha says, rapping him on the head again. “And don’t worry about missing your duties. Lance will take care of them.”

“Don’t worry about training,” Bruno says roughly. “Training while weakened isn’t good. Rest.”

Green coughs something and Lance and Lorelei give him skeptical looks.

“Would you like a cough drop?” Lorelei asks, a hint of irritation slipping through her cool facade.

“No, I’m fine,” Green says, shooting her an overly-wide smile. Red snorts and Green, without even looking, bonks him lightly on the head.

“We’ll see you,” Lance says finally, and the Elite Four troop out of the room in one ragtag formation. The door clicks shut, the sound surprisingly loud.

“This is awkward,” Green says eventually, shifting so he’s sitting cross-legged on the bed and facing Red. Red just shrugs - or does his best to, he’s lying on a bed after all. Green stares at the floor, fingers tapping relentlessly on the mattress. Red bites his lip and looks up at the ceiling.

“I was really worried about you,” Green blurts out suddenly, looking directly at Red. “You were barely breathing, Red. Don’t - don’t scare me like that.”

Red shifts guiltily under the covers, not meeting Green’s eyes.  _ Sorry, _ he signs.  _ You’re right. Should have been more careful. _

“You should be sorry,” Green mutters and Red feels even worse, pushing himself deeper under the sheets. “Hey, hey, stop. I didn’t mean it, kay? I should be the one apologizing. I shouldn’t have yelled at you - it’s not your fault. I should have realized you were, well, drowning, earlier but I didn’t.”

_ Don’t apologize, _ Red signs.  _ Not your fault. Mine. _

“Red, just accept that you’ll lose this argument. It’s my fault,” Green says, a faint smile appearing on his face. “Give up already.”

There’s the Green he knows. Red allows himself to smile back, feeling a bit relieved, and signs,  _ Fine. Your fault. Happy? _

Green beams, eyes crinkling up slightly. “Very.”

“Good to see you two made up,” Red’s mom says finally. Red looks over at her and she smiles. “You two were such good friends.”

_ And then we became rivals, _ Red thinks sadly and maybe a bit bitterly,  _ and it all bit the dust. _

“Well,” Green says, “we can become good friends again. Right, buddy?”

Red nods and Red’s mom smiles wider. “That’s good,” she says. “You’ll be good for each other. I can tell.”

“Except when we’re in ice caves,” Green says wryly. Red cracks a slight smile and Red’s mom laughs. “They’re cool, but I’d rather not go back anytime soon.”

Red nods in firm agreement. The Seafoam Islands were beautiful, but he’d rather not almost drown again. He would really, really, enjoy not almost drowning again.

“We’re all in agreement, then?” Green asks, looking at each of them. “Yes? Yes? Alright, motion passed. No more ice caves.”

Red’s mom laughs and Red smiles wider. The sun reflects off of Green’s hair and turns his eyes into a pretty shade of amber gold.


	14. Green

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is; Chapter 14. Hope you enjoyed the past few chapters! The story begins to speed up around this point, so get ready. :)
> 
> I've been having a bit of a block lately, so my writing streak has slowed down a bit. It's a bit annoying, but I'll get over it soon. I've finally gotten everything planned out and I'm hoping to finish Filler Title as soon as possible. Once I'm done writing the thing in Google Docs, I can move on to some new ideas that are building in my head. Some of them are Pokemon related, some are related to different games, and some just have no fandom at all. Whatever I choose to write, I hope you like it.
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> -Jay

The elevator ride is awkward.

Green, leaning against the wall, stares up at the ceiling. Was it the ceiling? Ceiling-but-not, then. The incandescent lights and cheerful music are a rather stark contrast to the anxious mood of the people inside the elevator.

“Floor 3,” a robotic voice says. The doors open and an elderly man wheels in. Lorelei and Red’s mom (Delia? Was that her name?) move aside, making room in the middle of the elevator. The doors close and the elevator starts moving again.

The song ends and another one starts playing. Green frowns, tilting his head towards the speakers. Is that… is that Don’t Stop Believing?

Odd, especially considering that they’re in a  _ hospital _ .

“Floor 4,” the voice intones, and the doors open again. Green checks the number written on his palm. 404.

“We get off here,” he says, carefully edging his way past the elderly man and out the elevator. Red’s mom is right next to him, lips pressed together in worry. The Elite Four are out in a moment, grouping around Green and Red’s mom. 

“Which room?” Lance says brusquely, glancing at Green for a brief moment. Green hides a wince.

“Room 404,” he says, looking around the hallway. “Should be that way.” He gestures forwards.

“Let’s go,” Lorelei says, striding forwards. Red’s mom brushes a hand over Green’s shoulder, murmuring a word of thanks, then hurries forwards to join Lorelei. The rest of the Elite Four follow them and Green brings up the rear.

He hangs back as they enter the room, letting everyone else go in front and then slipping away to stand in the corner. Red’s mom and the Elite Four are Red’s family and who is he? Red’s former bully/rival. Not the greatest resume.

“Red!” Red’s mom says, hurrying immediately to Red’s side. “Are you okay? How are you feeling?” 

Red signs something that Green can’t quite make out and Red’s mom responds in kind. “When I heard from your friend that you were in the hospital, I was so worried,” she says, shaking her head. Her voice sounds a little choked up. “We were all worried. Don’t do that to us, sweetheart.”

“You have to be more careful,” Lorelei says, pulling up another chair to sit next to Red’s mom. “We need to know you’re safe, Red.”

“We worry,” Bruno says sternly. “Don’t make us worry.” 

Agatha, standing next to him, raps Red lightly on the head with the end of her cane. “Reckless, just like that other boy,” she scolds. It’s rather obvious who she’s referring to. “You risked your life for that water stone. But those sorts of trinkets aren’t worth it.”

Lance crouches next to Lorelei. “How do you feel on a scale of one to ten?” he asks. “Any problems breathing or feelings of lightheadedness?”

Green sees Red shake his head and raise a few fingers. Lance sort-of nods. “Good,” he says, sounding relieved. “I brought all of your Pokemon here.” He stands and sets six Pokeballs on the table next to Red’s bed. “They’re very worried about you, you know.”

Red reaches out and grabs one of the Pokeballs. His mother picks up the other five and hands them to him, smiling affectionately. Green watches as Red cradles the Pokeballs. A slight smile twitches at Red’s mouth, eyes crinkling slightly. It makes Green’s chest feel slightly heavy and he shifts, crossing his arms.

Red looks up suddenly, ruby eyes connecting with Green’s own, and Green feels the awkwardness level increase a stage. He offers a little wave and a small smile, hoping he doesn’t seem too insincere. Red doesn’t react, though, eyes piercing right through him, and Green eventually averts his eyes. Guilt is back, weighing down his stomach.

“Red?,” Red’s mom says. “You okay, sweetheart?”

Green keeps staring at the wall. It’s very interesting. Someone has doodled a flower on it with blue crayon.

“He worries about you, too,” Red’s mom says, a little quieter this time. Green turns his head a little. He hears Lorelei snort quietly.

“It’s true,” Red’s mom says, voice rising slightly in volume. “Green was the one who brought Red to the hospital.” 

_ Does that matter? _ Green wonders to himself, then pushes it out of his head. He’s not sure he wants to think about  _ that _ right now. 

He glances back towards Red and meets Red’s gaze once more.  _ Thank you, _ Red signs, eyes warm. Green feels his cheeks warm a little and signs  _ You’re welcome _ back, giving Red a brief smile.

“Anyway,” Lance says, “we can’t stay here much longer. I have to fill in for you as Champion and there are meetings scheduled for today.”

Red bites his lip, eyes going distant. 

“I’m sorry,” Lorelei says. “We should be back in perhaps a few hours.”

“Well-” Lance starts, but Lorelei cuts him off with a glare. 

“In a few hours, Lance,” she says sternly and Lance nods hurriedly. “Yes, of course. In a few hours.”

Agatha snickers at Lance’s discomfort and Red’s mom laughs warmly. “You all can go,” she says. “I’ll stay here with Red.”

“I can stay, too,” Green says. Everyone turns to look at him and he immediately regrets saying that, but pushes on. “I mean - well - I took the morning off and - yeah.”

“Are you… sure. If you don’t want to, you don’t have to,” Lance says flatly. 

Green shakes his head, feeling more assured now. “I’ll stay,” he says. 

“That would be wonderful,” Red’s mom says. Green blinks, feeling a little surprised. “Please, come join us.”

Red’s eyes meet his own for a moment, then Green nods and walks over to Red. There are no more chairs left and he doesn’t quite want to stand, so he just sits carefully on the bed next to Red’s legs.

No one speaks and Green is about to say something in order to break the tension, when the door opens and a nurse walks in. She seems rather surprised, pausing for a moment.

“Oh-hello,” she says, addressing Red. “You have visitors, I see.”

“We were going to leave in a few minutes,” Lance says.

“Hm,” the nurse says, eyes narrowing slightly. “Are you Lance of the Elite Four, by any chance? I’ve seen you in newspapers now and then.”

“Yes, I am,” Lance says carefully. “It would be gr _ e _ at if you don’t tell anyone the Elite Four or champion are here.” There’s an underlying tone of danger in Lance’s voice and Green instinctively tenses up a bit.

“I won’t, don’t worry,” the nurse says, not seeming at all nervous or flustered. “Confidentiality is important, especially for people of your status.” 

She walks towards Red and places the tray on the table. “That’s medicine. Your body isn’t equipped to handle solid food yet, so you’re receiving nutrients from the IV.” Picking up a cup, she pours out some of the medicine and holds it out for Red. “Drink this.”

Red tries to sit up and Red’s mom reaches out to help him. “Give it to me,” she says, holding out a hand. The nurse hands it over to her and she presses the rim of the cup against Red’s lips. “Drink, sweetheart,” she says.

Red reaches up and grasps the cup, drinking whatever’s inside, then settles carefully back on the bed. The nurse picks up the tray, reaches out and measures Red’s temperature for a second, then turns around and leaves.

“Well,” Lance says, sounding a little awkward, “we have to go.”

_ You’ll be back in a bit, right?  _ Red signs.

It occurs to Green that Lance might not know sign language and so he translates.

“You’ll be back in a bit, right?”

Both him and Red’s mom say it at the exact same time. Green exhales a laugh, glancing towards Red’s mom. She’s laughing as well, giving him an amused smile.

“Yes, we will,” Lance says. “I’ll see you in a bit, Red.”

“Get as much rest as possible,” Lorelei says, standing up. “Take care of him, Delia.”

“Of course,” Red’s mom says. So it  _ was _ Delia, after all.

“Don’t be so reckless,” Agatha says, rapping him on the head again. “And don’t worry about missing your duties. Lance will take care of them.”

“Don’t worry about training,” Bruno says roughly. “Training while weakened isn’t good. Rest.”

Green coughs, surprised. This, coming from the person who put so much emphasis on ‘rigorous training,’ was a little odd.

Lorelei gives him a look, irritation slipping through her normally composed facade. “Would you like a cough drop?” she asks. 

Green shakes his head and gives her an exaggerated smile. “No, I’m fine,” he says.

Beside him, Red snorts and Green reaches out to bonk him lightly on the forehead.

“We’ll see you,” Lance says finally, and they troop out the room like a mini army. The sound of the door clicking shut feels oddly loud.

“This is awkward,” Green says eventually, shifting to sit cross-legged on the bed. Red gives him a sort of aborted shrug, glancing at Green for a brief moment. Green averts his eyes, glancing at the floor and drumming his fingers against the mattress.

The tension in his chest is slowly building, pushing outwards like a balloon. It makes his stomach curl and he chances a look towards Red.

Nothing.

“I was really worried about you,” Green blurts out suddenly, looking at Red. “You were barely breathing, Red. Don’t - don’t scare me like that.”

Red doesn’t meet Green’s eyes, shifting deeper under the covers.  _ Sorry, _ he signs.  _ You’re right. Should have been more careful. _

“You should be sorry,” Green mutters, now feeling a little irritated. Red shifts even deeper under the covers and Green panics a little. “Hey, hey, stop. I didn’t mean it, kay? I should be the one apologizing. I shouldn’t have yelled at you - it’s not your fault. I should have realized you were, well, drowning, earlier but I didn’t.”

_ Don’t apologize, _ Red signs, finally looking at Green.  _ Not your fault. It’s mine. _

“Red, just accept that you’ll lose this argument. It’s my fault,” Green says, allowing a smile. Red doesn’t seem to be too mad or too hurt, so it’ll be fine, right?

Red smiles back and signs,  _ Fine. Your fault. Happy? _

A relieved grin spreads across Green’s face and he relaxes. “Very.”

“Good to see you two made up,” Red’s mom/Delia says. Green looks towards her and she smiles, both at him and Red. “You two were such good friends.”

_ Were, _ Green thinks,  _ being the key word.  _

But, you know what? Optimism. Positivity. No negative vibes allowed.

“Well,” he says, because Red is getting that worrying blank look in his eyes again, “we can become good friends again. Right, buddy?”

Red nods and Delia’s smile becomes wider. “That’s good,” she says. “You’ll be good for each other. I can tell.”

_ Will we?  _ Green wonders, but he pushes that thought down. Optimism. Positivity. No negative vibes allowed.

“Except in ice caves,” he says, hoping he doesn’t sound awkward or inconsiderate. “They’re cool, but I’d rather not go back anytime soon.”

Luckily, Red doesn’t at all seem offended, nodding and even cracking a small smile, and Delia laughs. 

“We’re all in agreement, then?” Green continues, feeling bolstered by their approval. “Yes? Yes? Alright, motion passed.” He’s tempted to bang an invisible gavel on the bed, but figures that it would be a bit too over-the-top. “No more ice caves.”

Delia laughs again and Red smiles wider. The sunlight is warm and makes Red’s eyes sparkle in a deep shade of amber.


	15. Red

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I have a complaint. Whenever I try to work on my story, I just have to wait for like ten minutes because a: my internet is slow and b: there is so many pages. Whenever I upload a chapter, I have to scroll through all the pages to find it, which takes forever. Google Docs can be a nightmare.
> 
> Moving on, though, here is chapter 15! I hope you like it!
> 
> -Jay

The oak bark is firm and rough against Red’s back. He tilts his head up, watching as Charizard flies circles around Pidgeot. Pikachu scampers down the tree and into Red’s arms. The familiar sounds of Pidgey, Spearow, and the occasional Caterpie drift through the clearing.

“Hey, you okay?” Green asks. Red looks towards his left. Green is standing there, his Sylveon curled around his neck like a scarf. 

_ Yes, _ Red signs with one hand. Pikachu bristles at the sight of Green, fur sparking. Sylveon jumps lightly down from Green’s shoulders and a soothing wind ripples through the clearing.

“Good,” Green says, crouching to pet his Sylveon. It chirps softly, tendrils flaring.

_ Sylveon is Fairy-type right? _ Red signs. Green nods, scratching behind Sylveon’s ears lightly.

“Super effective against fighting, dark, and dragon,” he says, tilting his head towards Red in an unsaid question. 

_ Weak to poison, steel _ , Red signs. Green nods again, smiling.

“Yep. And immune to dragon, which is a nice touch,” he says. Pikachu snorts skeptically, climbing out of Red’s arms to perch on his shoulder. Red reaches up, scritching Pikachu lightly behind its ears.

_ You have a good team, _ he signs. Green smiles proudly.

“That I do,” he says. “They’re wonderful.” He pauses for a moment, then says, “Your team is good as well.”

Red nods.  _ They are, _ he signs, and the two of them fall into a peaceful silence.

Lapras drifts serenely through the pond, fins barely moving. Green’s odd Crawdaunt swims back and forth, occasionally chattering irritably at Lapras. Venusaur is sleeping, the leaves on its back fluttering lightly. Charizard lands in front of Venusaur and pokes lightly at Venusaur’s snout with one claw. Green’s Pidgeot lands next to Charizard and caws, scolding Charizard. Green’s Ferrothorn swings down from a tree and pokes Pidgeot’s head, cackling when Pidgeot glares at it. Arcanine huffs out a small ember, startling Ferrothorn back up into the tree. Red’s Machamp roars proudly, and Green’s Rhyperior roars back. Snorlax opens one eye, glares sleepily at Rhyperior, and then slumps down onto the grass.

Pikachu jumps down from Red’s shoulder, landing on all fours on the ground and then standing up. Sylveon yawns softly, then stands up as well and pads over to Pikachu, eyes curious.

“It’s good that our Pokemon get along with each other,” Green says lightly. “Well, most of them.”

Red nods.  _ Lapras doesn’t like your Crawdaunt. _

“Crawdaunt is picky and a very special Pokemon,” Green says primly. Red gives Green a skeptical look and Green rolls his eyes. “It’s true! Don’t give me that look.”

Red snorts quietly and signs,  _ Lapras likes everyone. Except your Crawdaunt. _

“Your Lapras is biased, then,” Green says haughtily. Red chooses not to reply to that statement and turns to watch Rhyperior and Machamp wrestle each other.

The silence between them is less comfortable this time. Green looks a little awkward, fingers tapping lightly on the ground. Red laces his fingers together and bites his lip. He wonders if he said anything wrong. Should he apologize?

“So,” Green says, “when are you going to go back to the League?”

Red shrugs.  _ Probably tomorrow, _ he signs. 

“Anyone going with you?” Green asks. 

_ Agatha was going to come, _ Red signs. He wonders why Green is asking this. 

“I’ll go with you, too,” Green says decisively. “Knowing you, you’ll get lost on the way to the League and accidentally go to Johto or something.”   
  
_ Agatha’s with me, _ Red points out, not sure whether he should feel amused or insulted. 

“Agatha’s probably got the same sense of direction as my granddad,” Green says. “C’mon, Red. I bet Charizard wants to race Pidgeot again. Besides, having company would be nice, don’t you agree?”

Charizard rumbles in agreement, glaring up at Pidgeot. Pidgeot completely ignores Charizard, circling above the clearing.

Red tilts his head, pretending to mull it over.  _ You sure?  _ he signs.  _ Agatha’s there for company… _

“I guess not,” Green says, deflating slightly. Red immediately feels bad.

_ I’m joking, _ he signs.  _ We’ll go. _

Green perks back up, smiling.  _ Cute. _ “Sweet. I’ll meet you and Agatha at my gym around 7, kay?”

Red smiles as well.  _ Okay,  _ he signs. 

Green’s Sylveon chases Pikachu around, both of them giggling happily. Rhyperior and Machamp seem to be making poses for some odd reason. Lapras seems to have grudgingly made friends with Crawdaunt. Arcanine is settled in between Snorlax and Venusaur, while Ferrothorn swings from tree to tree. Green’s Pidgeot has settled comfortably on top of Snorlax, while Charizard swoops around in the sky. It’s a beautiful afternoon.

  
  


The next day, Red hugs his mother goodbye, accepting a kiss on the cheek and a large cookie - “to share with your friend,” she said with a smile - and bikes to Viridian City. It’s a fairly short ride if you know the path; at most twenty minutes.

Red? Red’s gone this route enough times to know it like the back of his hand. Fifteen minutes later, he’s riding off a dirt path and onto the main road. The sun is already high up in the sky, despite it being rather early. 

Green’s gym stands tall and proud in the center of the city. Red navigates the roads smoothly, arriving in front of the gym in a matter of minutes. Green’s not there yet, so he dismounts, locks his bike into the convenient little rack there, and walks in.

The gym is oddly quiet. The spinning tiles aren’t lit, the lights on the ceiling are dim. Red wonders for a moment if the -

“What are you doing so early in the morning?”

Yes. Yes, the gym person is here. 

“Looking for our leader?” the old man says, appearing in front of Red. “He’s in the back. I’ll take you there.”

Red gives him a nod of thanks and follows the old man across the floor. It’s fairly simple, since the tiles aren’t on. 

“Wait here,” the old man says. “I’ll get him for you.”

Red nods, lacing his fingers together. The old man walks into Green’s arena and comes out a few minutes later, Green trailing behind him with Sylveon draped around his shoulders .

“Hey!” Green says, waving with a slight yawn. “You’re a bit early, you know that?”

Red nods, rolling his shoulders back.  _ Agatha comes soon, _ he signs.  _ We should get ready.  _ He splits the cookie in two and passes one half to Green.

“Wow, thanks!” Green says, visibly brightening. He takes a bite of the cookie and Red does as well. It’s honey and blueberry. His favorite. “My Pokemon are with me. You wanna go outside now?”

Red nods. Green smiles and they walk together towards the gym door. Before they leave, Green releases his Arcanine, who lands on the floor with a curious huff.

“You two help Alan take care of the gym, okay?” Green says. “No scaring people, Arcanine. And Sylveon, try not to get sparkles all over the arena again.”

Sylveon chirps softly, nudging Green’s hip. Arcanine huffs apologetically and Green smiles at both of them.

“I’m trusting you two,” he says. “Take care of them, okay, Alan?”

“Of course,” the old man - Alan - says. “I’ve still got a lot of strength in me. I’m not going to fall over quite yet!”

“Sweet,” Green says. “We’ll be going now, okay?”

“Don’t worry,” Alan says. “We’ll handle everything. You go on.”

“See ya!” Green says, waving, and they exit the gym.

Agatha is standing there, a Crobat swooping around behind her. “Well, you two seem happy,” she says with a cackle. “Shall we?”

Red nods, signing  _ Yes _ at the same time. He summons Charizard and the fire-type growls happily, stretching its wings out. Red reaches up to rub a hand along the rough scales of Charizard’s neck.

“Let’s go,” Green says, pulling out a Pokeball. Pidgeot appears in a bright flash of light, ruffling its feathers with a soft coo. Charizard growls again, not quite as happy this time.

“Your Pokemon seem like rivals as well,” Agatha says with a slight smirk. 

“They are,” Green says, petting Pidgeot. Red scratches Charizard’s scales and smiles when Charizard headbutts his chest lightly.

_ Should we go? _ he signs. He’s been away for quite a few days, he should get back as soon as possible.

“Yes, we should indeed,” Agatha says, suddenly serious. “Everyone at the League is very eager to see you, Red.”

Red nods. The past few days in Pallet Town and with Green had been nice, but he is excited to see the Elite Four in person again.

“Let’s go, then.” Green says, climbing on top of Pidgeot. “Wouldn’t want to waste more time, right?”

It feels a bit like a jab towards him, but Red ignores it in favour of climbing on to Charizard. Green probably doesn’t mean anything by that.  _ Let’s, _ he signs.

“Well then,” Agatha says, already mounted on her Crobat. “Shall we?”

“We shall,” Green says. “Pidgeot?”

Pidgeot caws softly, crouching, and then ascends into the air, wings flapping.

Red taps Charizard’s neck and points to where Green is.  _ After them, _ he signs with one hand. Charizard rumbles determinedly, taking a few quick strides forwards, and then pushes off into the air. They fly up to Green’s Pidgeot in a couple flaps of Charizard’s wings.

Agatha and Green are hovering next to each other. “C’mon, Red,” Green says. “Let’s race again. We’ll beat you!”

Charizard growls and Red smiles slightly.  _ You won’t, _ he signs simply.  _ Tailwind. _

A wind blows behind Charizard and they suddenly arrow forwards, wings beating strongly. Red presses himself flat over Charizard’s back, smiling wider when he hears Green yell “We’re gonna win!” from behind him.

Out of the corner of his eye, he spots Green and Pidgeot coming up on them. Red taps Charizard twice, quickly signing  _ Fast, _ and Charizard speeds up.

Green disappears from his vision and Red holds onto Charizard’s shoulders as they fall into a slight dive. The huge pillars and roof of the league are now visible in the distance and Red points Charizard towards them.

“Hey!” That’s Green. Red looks up with a frown and sees Green flying right next to Charizard. Pidgeot’s tail and head feathers stream backwards, fluttering brightly in the wind. 

“You’re gonna lose!” Green says with a smirk. “Agility, Pidgeot!”

_ Wow. _

Charizard growls furiously as Pidgeot speeds up even more, now slightly blurred as Green zips by, laughing. Red can’t even be mad, shaking his head with a smile.  _ Fast, _ he signs again, tapping Charizard twice. The fire-type grumbles softly, but pushes itself even faster. Pidgeot swoops above them and then dives to fly in front of them, going a lot faster. Probably because of Agility, Red thinks. Charizard rumbles unhappily, doing its best to try and beat Pidgeot, but Green easily outspeeds them and wins.

“What did I say?” Green says proudly. “We won!”

Pidgeot, looking rather ruffled, shakes out its feathers and coos happily. Green scratches Pidgeot’s head lightly, grinning. Charizard grumbles irritably and Red gently brushes a hand over Charizard’s scales. 

“Well, aren’t you two having fun,” someone says. It’s Agatha. Red turns around to look at her as Agatha jumps off of Crobat’s back midair, landing lightly on the grass.

“Wow,” Green says, sounding impressed. “Didn’t know you could do that.”

“I’m not that old yet, child,” Agatha says tartly. “I’ve got a lot of strength in my bones still.”

“Of course you do,” Green replies lightly. “You’re going, then, Red?”

Red nods.  _ I’ll see you, _ he signs.

Green smiles. “You better,” he says. “Message me when you have time, okay?”

Red nods again. Green climbs onto Pidgeot and they push off into the air. Red waves and signs  _ Goodbye _ at the same time, smiling slightly when Green tosses him a salute and flies off.

Agatha is giving him an odd look, lips twisted up in a smirk. Red isn’t sure how to feel about that, so he chooses to ignore it in favor of petting Charizard some more.

“Come, Red,” Agatha says. “We should go inside.”

Red nods and recalls Charizard in a flash of light, clipping the Pokeball back onto his belt. Agatha returns her Crobat and leads Red to the double doors of the League.

Lance, Lorelei, and Bruno are all standing in the lobby and immediately rush over when they see Red. Lorelei reaches out to - carefully - hug Red, then pulls away.

“You feeling okay?” she asks. “Did you eat breakfast yet?”

_ I did, _ Red signs.  _ Oatmeal and toast. And eggs. _

“Good,” Lorelei says, straightening. “You should still get some rest, though, Red. It’s rather early.”

“We’re glad to see you back, though,” Lance adds. “You’re looking a lot better now.”

“We start training tomorrow,” Bruno says gruffly. “You’re Champion. You need to be strong.”

“Oh, hush Bruno,” Agatha says. “He’s barely a teenager. He doesn’t have to train all the time.”

_ I’ll train, _ Red signs. As much as the past few days of relaxation were nice, he’s relieved to be up and on his feet again. His Pokemon are excited as well; they didn’t get to battle much and Red can tell that they’re eager to get out.

“You’ll also do the mountain of paperwork, I assume?” Lance asks. Red grimaces, signing  _ I would rather not. _

“I expected that,” Lance says with a sigh. Lorelei glares at him and he backs off. “You don’t have to do it, of course.” 

“Go get some rest,” Lorelei says.

“Us old ones will deal with the paperwork later,” Agatha says. “And with Lance, of course.”

Lorelei laughs at that and Bruno chuckles as Lance glares at Agatha.

“Anyways,” Lance says, “get some sleep, okay?”

Red nods and heads for the League quarters. Lorelei and Agatha fall into step next to him, while Bruno remains behind them and Lance is slightly ahead of Lorelei. They enter and Lorelei walks with Red to his room.

“Get some sleep, okay?” she says gently. “Don’t worry about anything.”

Red nods and she smiles. “It’s good to have you back,” she says, and then leaves.

His room is a familiar sight and he can’t help but smile. Nothing had really changed. The curtains had been drawn open and the morning sunlight filtered into the room. The bed was neatly made and Red went over to sit on it, crossing his legs. He set his Pokeballs and Pokegear on the bedside table.

There’s a neat stack of papers sitting on his desk beside his PC and Red bites his lip, hesitant.

He’s been away for more than a week and it’s Trainer season.  _ Lance already leads the Elites, _ he thinks.  _ He shouldn’t have to do all the Champion’s work as well. _

Red exhales quietly, looking at his bed and then back at his desk. He might as well just do it. No point in sitting around.

He goes to his desk and sits down, picking up the first paper.  _ Request for permission to open a steel-type gym _ the title says. Red sighs, grabs a nearby pen and starts working through the form.

The stack of papers dwindles slowly. At one point, Red gets up to close the curtains and then returns to his seat, continuing to work. Time ticks by, bit by bit.

There’s a knock on his door and Red starts. 

“Red?” That’s Lance. Red looks at the stack of unfinished paperwork on his desk. It’s shrunken to a little less than a centimeter tall; much easier for Lance to handle.

_ Good. _

“He’s probably asleep,” Lorelei says. “Let him rest, Lance.”

Red debates on whether or not to let them in, but that choice is swiftly made for him. The doorknob twists and Lance steps into the room.

“Red? What are you doing - is that paperwork?”

“You shouldn’t be working right now, you need your rest!”

“Did you just finish all of that?”

Lance sounds both impressed and rather happy, staring at the now-tiny stack of paper. Lorelei, on the other hand, looks shocked and a little concerned.

Guiltily, Red signs  _ I’m nearly done. _

“That’s good,” Lance says. “But, you shouldn’t blow through all of it in one go.”

“Go get some sleep,” Lorelei says, seeming to have calmed down a little. She ushers him out of the chair. “You need it.”

Red obediently sits on his bed, crossing his legs. The commotion seems to have drawn Agatha and Bruno, as they’re now standing in the doorway.

“My, my, what’s all this noise?” Agatha says.

“Red did all the paperwork when he was supposed to go to sleep,” Lorelei responds, giving Red an admonishing look. 

_ Sorry, _ Red signs. Lorelei sighs and brushes a hand over his shoulder. “It’s okay,” she says, “but don’t make a habit of it, alright, Red?”

“You’re not a workaholic yet,” Agatha says. “Unlike that old man there.” She points towards Lance, who makes a noise of protest.

“I’m not old!”

Agatha snickers and Lorelei, even with her irritation, can’t help a small smile.

“You have limits,” Bruno says, bringing the conversation back to a more serious tone. “Limits you can’t pass. Training is useless when you’re tired. Rest.”

“Rest,” Lorelei says, as if to emphasize the point. Red obediently pulls the covers over himself, curling up on his side. Lorelei gently brushes his bangs out of his eyes, smiling softly, and then ushers the rest of the Elites out. The door shuts with a soft click.

Now that he’s actually lying in bed, he feels tired all of a sudden. Red lets out a yawn, and then closes his eyes. Maybe a few minutes will be fine... 

  
  
  


He’s woken up by a buzzing sound coming from his Pokegear. Red yawns and pushes himself up, reaching blindly for the device.

The first thing he does is check the time. 11:49. 

He’s been asleep for three hours. Red blinks repeatedly, staring at the number on the screen, then unlocks his Pokegear. 

_ You have a new message, _ the screen reads.  _ Swipe to unlock home screen. Tap to read message. _

Red taps the screen lightly and the message pops up. It’s from Green.

_ ‘did u know that pinsir is the only non-fighting type who learns vital throw?’ _

Red tilts his head. He didn’t, actually.  _ ‘No’ _ , he types. 

_ ‘well now u do’. _

_ ‘How did u know this’ _ , Red asks. It didn’t really seem like something you would spend time learning.

_ ‘blaine and days of being roommates’. _

There’s a pause, and then Green says,

_ ‘growlithe is exactly 19 kg. arcanine is exactly 155 kg. they’re both very fluffy.’ _

Red snorts quietly.  _ ‘They are’ _ , he responds.  _ ‘Blaine told u this didn’t he’ _

_ ‘yes. how did u know? :)’  _ Green says.  _ ‘have 2 go, bye.’ _

_ ‘Bye’ _ , Red says, and then closes the window. He checks the time; 12: 02.

“Red?”

Red looks up from his Pokegear, then sets it down and goes to open the door. Lance is standing there, arms crossed.

“Oh, you’re up,” he says. “How much sleep did you get?

_ Three hours, _ Red signs.

Lance nods. “Good. Are you hungry? Lorelei’s making lunch.”

Red nods. He hasn’t eaten since 6:30 and as if to emphasize this, his stomach rumbles.

“Guess you are,” Lance says with a laugh. “Let’s go downstairs, then.”


	16. Green

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here is chapter 16! 
> 
> I'm working on finishing up Filler Title so I can start a new story. I actually do have a proper title in mind this time, so hurray! It's going to be set after Black and White but before Black 2 and White 2. Hopefully it'll be good.
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> -Jay

The clearing in the Viridian Forest is peaceful. The familiar calls of Pidgey and the occasional Spearow drift through the woods.

Sylveon chirps happily, draped around Green’s neck like a scarf. He smiles, reaching up to pet her gently. Rhyperior roars triumphantly in the background.

Red is sitting under a tree, holding Pikachu. Green can’t help but wonder what he’s thinking about. Pokemon? People? Nothing at all?

“Hey,” he says, “you okay?” Red turns to look towards Green, sharp eyes softening slightly.

_ Yes, _ he signs. Pikachu’s fur sparks and Sylveon chirps brightly, slipping off of Green’s shoulders. A soothing Fairy Wind blows through the clearing. Green crouches and pets Sylveon on the head.

“Good,” he says. Sylveon’s tendrils flare out, colourful ribbons rippling in the wind. 

_ Sylveon is Fairy-type right? _ Red signs. Green nods, scritching Sylveon behind the ears lightly.

“Super effective against fighting, dark, and dragon,” he says, tilting his head towards Red in an unsaid prompt.

_ Weak to poison, steel _ , Red signs. Green nods again, smiling.  _ He’s good at this _ , he thinks. It had taken Green a lot more time to memorize all the type combinations, but for Red it just seemed to click.

“Yep. And immune to dragon, which is a nice touch,” he adds. Pikachu snorts quietly, climbing up Red’s arm to perch lightly on his shoulder. Red reaches up and pets Pikachu, eyes drifting away for a moment.  _ You have a good team, _ he signs.

Green blinks, feeling a little surprised. “That I do,” he says. “They’re wonderful.” He pauses for a moment, unsure, and then says, “Your team is good as well.”

_ They are,  _ Red signs with a nod and a small twitch of the lips. Green turns his head away with a smile, petting Sylveon lazily and watching as Crawdaunt chatters irritably at Lapras. Red’s Machamp flexes its muscles at Rhyperior, who grunts in irritation. Red’s Charizard lands in front of a sleeping Venusaur, poking its snout with one claw. Pidgeot lands next to Charizard and caws irritably, feathers rippling. Ferrothorn pokes Pidgeot’s head lightly and Arcanine huffs out a small lick of flame, startling Ferrothorn back up into the tree. Red’s Snorlax glares at a roaring Rhyperior, and then lies back down. 

__

Sylveon stands up suddenly, arching its back with a wide (adorable) yawn, and then pads away from Green. Green looks to see where Sylveon is going and - oh. Sylveon’s standing in front of Pikachu, eyes curious.

“It’s good that our Pokemon get along with each other,” Green says, tilting his head slightly. “Well-” He glances at Crawdaunt - “most of them.”

Red nods.  _ Lapras doesn’t like your Crawdaunt. _

Rude.

“Crawdaunt is picky and a very special Pokemon,” Green says primly. Red gives Green a skeptical look - which, fair, but still rude - and Green rolls his eyes. “It’s true! Don’t give me that look.”

Red snorts, eyes skeptical, and signs,  _ Lapras likes everyone.  _ Except _ your Crawdaunt. _

“Your Lapras is biased, then,” Green says haughtily. Red doesn’t reply, looking away from him, and Green takes that as his cue to shut up. 

The silence between them is a lot more awkward this time. Green drums his fingers on the grass, wondering if he said something rude. He glances towards Red, and relaxes when he sees that there is no blankness in Red’s eyes. Good.

“So,” Green says, “when are you going to go back to the League?”

It’s mainly just a question to break the silence, but part of Green is genuinely curious. 

Red simply shrugs.  _ Probably tomorrow, _ he signs. 

“Anyone going with you?” Green asks. If no one’s going with Red, then he will. 

_ Agatha was going to come, _ Red signs, frowning slightly. 

“I’ll go with you, too,” Green says determinedly. “Knowing you, you’ll get lost on the way to the League and accidentally go to Johto or something.”   
  
_ Agatha’s with me, _ Red points out, lips twitching up slightly. Green wonders if he should back off for a moment, but then abandons that thought. No point now. 

“Agatha’s probably got the same sense of direction as my granddad,” he says. Oak was always getting lost in the forest. Somehow. “C’mon, Red. I bet Charizard wants to race Pidgeot again. Besides, having company would be nice, don’t you agree?”

Red’s Charizard growls, glaring up at Pidgeot who calmly ignores it, flying over the clearing. Red tilts his head, eyes turning thoughtful.  _ You sure?  _ he signs.  _ Agatha’s there for company…  _

“I guess not,” Green says, sighing. If Red really didn’t want his company, then he shouldn’t intrude  _ too _ much.

_ I’m joking, _ Red signs hurriedly.  _ We’ll go. _

Green brightens, feeling himself smile again. “Sweet. I’ll meet you and Agatha at my gym around 7, kay?”

Red smiles as well.  _ Okay. _

Sylveon and Pikachu run around in circles, chasing each other. Rhyperior and Red’s Machamp flex at each other. Crawdaunt seems to have made up with Red’s Lapras, albeit rather reluctantly. Ferrothorn swings about, avoiding Arcanine who is currently snoozing in between Red’s Snorlax and Venusaur. Pidgeot has settled on top of Snorlax, something that makes Green smile, and Charizard flies around in the sky. Red’s presence is soothing to him. 

It’s a beautiful afternoon.

  
  


At around 5:50, Green buries his face in the pillow and reluctantly rolls out of bed. His alarm beeps over and over and Green reaches out blindly to turn it off.

With a tired sigh, he stands up and stumbles into the bathroom. He goes through all the familiar motions of waking up without really thinking about them; brush his teeth, rinse his toothbrush, wash his mouth, wash his face, dry his face, tiredly walk downstairs, set out food for his Pokemon and let them eat. Green stares at the fridge for a moment, wondering whether or not he should eat breakfast, then decides not to. He has a lot more paperwork than normal to do and he doesn’t really feel hungry anyways.

His gym is locked. Green unlocks the doors with a yawn and strides inside. The lights and floor tiles are off, so Green just walks in a straight line across the floor until he reaches his arena. He opens the door and heads towards his office.

The office lights are off, as expected, and Green blindly fumbles along the wall until he finds the switch and turns the lights on. The bulb flickers slightly and Green lets out a sigh when he sees the stack of papers in the inbox.

Well, no time like the present.

Green pulls out the chair and sits down in front of his desk, grabbing one of the papers. It’s a gym trainer application.

Declined.

He falls into a sort of work daze. The only sounds in the office are scribbling and the occasional sigh. Sylveon’s ball rocks and Green reaches down, pressing the button to let Sylveon out. She appears in a swirl of pink and immediately leaps up onto his chest, curling up. Green doesn’t even bother to try and move Sylveon, leaning back and scratching Sylveon’s ears lightly. Arcanine’s ball rocks as well and Green laughs.

“You all just want to get out, don’t you,” he says. “Alright, fine. Come on out.”

Arcanine appears in a flash of light and lies down next to Green’s desk, happily accepting a few pets. Pidgeot lands neatly next to Arcanine, ruffles its feathers with a peaceful coo, and then promptly goes to sleep. Crawdaunt and Ferrothorn scuttle off together to some corner of the room, cackling about something. Green decides not to ask. And Rhyperior….

“Sorry, Rhyperior,” Green says reluctantly. “It’s a little too crowded here.”

Rhyperior’s ball shakes once, and then falls still. Green decides to take that as forgiveness and keeps working.

He’s interrupted from his work by the door opening. Green looks up, one hand reaching for where his Pokeballs would normally be but then he remembers that his Pokemon are already out.

Oops.

“Leader,” Alan says, entering the room. “Your friend wants to see you.”

Green quickly checks the time. 6:56. 

“He’s early,” he remarks, shifting slightly. Sylveon climbs up onto Green’s shoulders and settles there. Green recalls all of his Pokemon, clipping their balls back to his belt, and then stands, stretching. “Let’s go, then, I guess.”

The two of them walk out the office, through the arena, and into the main room. Red is standing there, fingers laced together.

“Hey!” Green says, waving and yawning at the same time. “You’re a bit early, you know that?”

Red nods, rolling his shoulders back. _Agatha comes soon._ _We should get ready._ He produces a cookie out of absolutely nowhere and splits it in half, handing one piece to Green.

“Wow, thanks!” Green says, surprised but delighted at the same time. He takes a bite of the cookie at the same time as Red. Honey-blueberry. Yum. “My Pokemon are with me. You wanna go outside now?”

Red nods. Green smiles and they’re walking towards the gym doors when he remembers; Alan. He quickly stops and releases Arcanine from its ball. The fire-type lands next to Green with a curious look.

“You two help Alan take care of the gym, okay?” Green says. “No scaring people, Arcanine. And Sylveon, try not to get sparkles all over the arena again.”

Sylveon chirps softly, nudging Green’s hip. Arcanine rumbles apologetically and Green feels himself smile.

“I’m trusting you two,” he says. “Take care of them, okay, Alan?”

“Of course,” Alan says. “I’ve still got a lot of strength in me. I’m not going to fall over quite yet!”

“Sweet,” Green says. “We’ll be going now, okay?”

“Don’t worry,” Alan says. “We’ll handle everything. You go on.”

“See ya!” Green says, waving, and they exit the gym.

Agatha is standing there, a Crobat swooping around behind her. “Well, you two seem happy,” she says with a cackle. Green immediately feels suspicious. “Shall we?”

Red nods, signing  _ Yes _ at the same time. Charizard is out and growls happily when Red pets its neck.

“Let’s go,” Green says, summoning his own flier. Pidgeot appears in a flash of light, feathers rustling lightly with a soft coo. Charizard growls again, sounding more irritated now.

“Your Pokemon seem like rivals as well,” Agatha says with a slight (mischievous) smirk. 

“They are,” Green comments lightly, petting Pidgeot. Pidgeot shifts its wings, nudging Green’s hand gently and Green glances over at Red. 

_ Should we go? _ Red signs. 

“Yes, we should indeed,” Agatha replies, suddenly serious. “Everyone at the League is very eager to see you, Red.”

Red simply nods and Green wonders for a brief moment if Red didn’t feel happy about being in Pallet. 

Champion’s job, you know. Busy. Much work.

“Let’s go, then.” he says, climbing on top of Pidgeot. “Wouldn’t want to waste more time, right?”

As much as he tries to keep the slight resentment out of his voice, it probably still slips through. But oh well. It’ll be fine.

“Well then,” Agatha says, sitting on her Crobat. “Shall we?”

“We shall,” Green says grandly. “Pidgeot?”

Pidgeot coos softly, crouching, and then pushing off into the air, wings flapping. Agatha hovers next to him and, in a few moments, Charizard makes it up to them as well.

“C’mon, Red,” Green says determinedly. “Let’s race again. We’ll beat you!”

Charizard growls and a slight smile appears on Red’s face. _You won’t._ _Tailwind._

A wind blows behind Charizard and they suddenly speed forwards, Red hunkering low over Charizard’s back. Green shakes his head and strokes Pidgeot lightly. “Agility,” he murmurs, and then yells into the distance, “We’re gonna win!”

Another Agility and Pidgeot speeds up even more, flying towards Charizard’s figure in the distance. They pull up close to Charizard but then it speeds up even more, flying away. Green laughs, shaking his head.

“C’mon, Pidgeot,” he says. “That way.” He points Pidgeot towards the roof and pillars of the League building, now visible in the distance. “And, try and catch Charizard’s wind as well.”

Red’s Charizard falls into a slight dive and Green directs Pidgeot to directly follow them. Pidgeot manages to catch Charizard’s Tailwind under its own wings, speeding up. They pull up right next to Charizard and Green buries his fingers into Pidgeot’s feathers, grinning.

“Hey!” he calls out. Red looks up with a confused frown and Green grins triumphantly. “You’re gonna lose! Agility, Pidgeot!”

Green has a brief moment to relish in Red’s look of admiration before he speeds right past them, laughing maniacally. He directs Pidgeot to fly a bit higher, easily outspeeding Red’s Charizard and swooping towards the League building. Adrenaline courses through his system as Pidgeot arrows through the sky, wings folded and feathers streaming back in the wind. They dive down in a blur of speed, landing in the grass in front of the League, and Green jumps down. Charizard lands after a bit, looking rather unhappy. Red slides off of its back gracefully.

“What did I say?” Green says proudly. “We won!”

Pidgeot shakes out its feathers, cooing proudly, and Green reaches down to pet Pidgeot. Charizard growls irritably.

“Well, aren’t you two having fun,” someone says. It’s Agatha. Green turns around to look at her, blinking in surprise when she jumps off her Crobat midair and lands lightly on the ground.

“Wow,” he says, feeling impressed. “Didn’t know you could do that.”

“I’m not that old yet, child,” Agatha says tartly. “I’ve got a lot of strength in my bones still.”

Oops. Offensive.

“Of course you do,” he replies, hoping he doesn’t sound sarcastic. “You’re going, then, Red?”

Red nods.  _ I’ll see you, _ he signs.

Green smiles. “You better,” he says. “Message me when you have time, okay?”

Red nods again. Green climbs onto Pidgeot’s back and they push off into the air, tossing Red a lazy salute as they fly away.

Pidgeot is rather tired when they land in front of his gym, but shakes its head no when Green tries to recall it, so they walk into the gym together. Arcanine is sitting close to the door and immediately bounds up to Green when he walks in, nuzzling him and rumbling happily.

“Hey there, buddy,” Green says with a laugh, reaching up to pet Arcanine’s head. “Where’s Sylveon? And Alan?”

“We’re here,” Alan says to Green’s right. Green turns to look at them, only to be greeted with a flurry of ribbons to the face. Sylveon jumps at him, paws grasping at his shoulder.

“Woah there, Sylveon!” Green says, falling back in surprise. Arcanine moves forwards to catch him and Green pats Arcanine appreciatively. “Thanks, Arcanine.”

Sylveon nuzzles him affectionately, ribbons wrapping around his shoulders and Green gently pulls Sylveon off of him. “Sorry, Sylveon,” he says, pushing himself up. Sylveon chirps happily, wriggling out of Green’s grasp and settling around his neck.

“Anyhow,” Green says, turning towards Alan, “how were they?”

“They were wonderful,” Alan says. “Your Sylveon was very sweet and your Arcanine was very helpful.”   
  


“Nice,” Green says, reaching back to scratch Arcanine’s ears gently. “Who’s here right now?”

“No one so far,” Alan says. “They should be arriving in a few minutes.”

Right on cue, the door opens and both Elan and Ida stroll in, chatting happily. Ida’s Azumarill bounces happily at their feet and Elan’s Porygon2 floats around them, beeping when it spots Green.

“Oh!” Elan says, looking up in surprise. “Leader! Good to see you!”

“Is anyone else here?” Ida asks, tilting her head. Azumarill tilts its head as well, squeaking cheerfully. “Also, why are your Pokemon out?”

“I went on a trip, so I left them to help Alan,” Green says vaguely. “No one else is here. Congratulations, you’re the first!”

“Thank you” Elan and Ida say in unison. Azumarill cheers, waving its little paws happily. Sylveon looks up and waves its ribbons in reply.

The door opens again and Arabella walks in, hair looking rather windswept. “Hello, Leader,” he says brightly, then notices Elan and Ida standing to the side. “Oh, I’m not the first?”

“Nope,” Green says. “Did you ride your Tauros again?”

“You bet!” Arabella says. “Though, we might have to be a little faster now.”

Elan laughs. “It won’t matter. We’ll still beat you.”

“Hey guys,” a new voice says. Salma appears in the doorway, accompanied by her Slowking. “Aw, dang. Third again?”

“Hey, don’t worry!” Arabella says. “One day you’ll be first. And hey, at least you’re not last.”

“That’s rude,” Salma admonishes gently. “Don’t say that to Bonita.”

“Sorry,” Arabella says. “I won’t.”

As if on cue, Bonita walks into the gym, looking a little flustered. “Am I late? Sorry, sorry.” His Spinda dances around, seemingly unaware of anything going on.

“You’re not late, don’t worry,” Green says. “Though, you are last.”

“Aw,” Bonita says. “Yeah, sorry about that. I accidentally broke my alarm and then Sudowoodo got angry because Spinda sprayed him with water and… yeah. Sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Salma says kindly. “You’re not late and that’s what matters.”

“Ahem,” Green says. “None of us are late, but we do have a gym to run.”

“Oh! Right,” Salma says. “We’d better get moving then, everyone.”

“Let’s go,” Arabella says brightly, and they all troop off to their respective jobs.

Green watches with a smile as the gym starts up. Arabella goes off to turn on the spinning tiles and Salma updates the gym log. Elan and Ida recall their Pokemon and set off towards their platform. Bonita flips the sign on the gym door to ‘OPEN’ and then goes off to his platform as well.

“You’d better go check the schedule today,” Alan reminds him, eyes twinkling. “There are a few very eager challengers.”

“Great,” Green says with a grin. “Let’s go, then. C’mon, Arcanine, Pidgeot.”

Arcanine huffs softly and nudges Green, then disappears in the light of its recall beam. Pidgeot shifts its wings and coos gently, then vanishes into its ball as well.

With Sylveon draped around his shoulders, Green takes the first step onto the spinning tiles and heads towards his arena. Once inside, he lets all his Pokemon out to play a bit. Rhyperior stretches, rumbling happily at finally being able to get out. Crawdaunt and Ferrothorn gravitate towards each other, chattering happily. Pidgeot settles in a corner of the room and goes to sleep on top of Arcanine. Green laughs at the sight, then heads into his office to check the schedule.

Swimmer Catherine at 9:00

Ace Trainer Jared at 10:00

Firebreather Flannery at 10:30

Bird Keeper Winona at 1:00

PokeFan Ben at 3:00

He checks the time; 8:06. Well, he still has some time, so he might as well do something.

Green grabs the food bag and pours some into each of the six bowls. Sylveon is sleeping on his shoulders and he gently shakes her awake. She yawns widely, then blinks at him with wide eyes.

“Help me carry these?” Green requests. Sylveon yawns again, then jumps off his shoulders. A wave of psychic energy pulses through the room and the bowls shake, then float up into the air.

“Psyshock, huh,” Green says. “Nice.”

Sylveon chirps happily and they walk out the office together. Arcanine looks up when they arrive in the arena and barks loudly. Rhyperior turns towards them, growling excitedly. Green laughs as every Pokemon in the room turns to look towards them, eyes eager.

“Hold up,” he says. “Don’t rush me, okay? I’ll just set these here.” He directs Sylveon to place the bowls down in a neat line in front of his office. “C’mon, eat.”

His entire team immediately heads towards the bowls and Green heads back into his office to grab some paperwork. Might as well do it now, before the day has started.

The morning goes as usual until 11:17. Salma beats the Swimmer girl, Green has a fun Eeveelution vs. Eeveelution battle with Ace Trainer Jared, and Bonita beats the Firebreather. At 11:17, though, Alan arrives in the arena accompanied by a flustered-looking storekeeper.

Green, sitting on top of Arcanine with glitter in his hair as they chase Sylveon around, is distinctly aware that this is a very awkward situation to find your gym leader in.

“Hello,” he says, not knowing what else to say. Alan shakes his head and sighs, but gestures towards the storekeeper.

“There’s a problem,” he says. “A mob of Spearow have invaded the Pokemart and we need your help.”

Green nods. “Spearow, huh,” he says. “Well, we better get moving.”

He jumps off of Arcanine and recalls all of his Pokemon, feeling more than a little awkward. “Lead the way,” he says, brushing the glitter out of his hair. “Sorry about the glitter.”

“It’s… okay,” the storekeeper says, clasping his hands together. Alan leads them through the spinning tiles in the gym and Green walks out the door with the storekeeper.

“There?” he asks, pointing towards a building surrounded by angry Spearow and scared people. 

The storekeeper nods, wringing his hands. “Please help me,” he says, sounding a little scared.

“Don’t worry,” Green says. “I got this.”

Sylveon and Crawdaunt appear in a flash of light and Green points towards the Pokemart. “Sylveon, try and calm down the crowd. Use Fairy Wind or something. Crawdaunt, handle the Spearow.”

His Pokemon nod and then dart towards the Pokemart. Green follows them closely, directing Sylveon towards the crowd of people. A soothing wind blows through the streets and, like magic, the surrounding people relax.

“Hey!” Green calls out. “Move away from the mart, okay? Spearow are dangerous!”

The word ‘dangerous’ seems to cause more panic, but Sylveon quickly calms them down with another Fairy Wind and one by one, they start moving away from the mart.

“Crawdaunt,” Green calls. The water-type looks up with a chatter. “Take out the Spearow with Razor Shell, one by one. 

Crawdaunt’s eyes narrow, then it pushes itself up with a fierce cry. Blades of water form around its pincers and it slashes at the wild Spearow, scattering them in a flurry of feathers before landing on the ground. Sylveon is done with dispersing the crowd, so Green calls for a Dazzling Gleam, which sends the Spearow flying off.

“Good job, you two,” Green says proudly. Sylveon chirps happily, bounding towards him. Crawdaunt scuttles behind Sylveon, glaring at anyone who tries to approach it.

“Thank you, thank you,” the storekeeper says, looking highly relieved. “I owe you a favour.”

And that’s a little weird to think about, so Green quickly shakes his head. “Nah, it’s okay. Duty and all that,” he says. 

“Seriously, though,” the storekeeper says. “Thank you for that. Your Pokemon are wonderful.”

“They are,” Green says proudly, reaching down to rub Crawdaunt’s star. Sylveon nudges Green hopefully and he laughs, petting her as well.

There’s a siren in the background and the storekeeper turns to look at the arriving police car. Green takes that as his cue to leave, heading back to his gym. Sylveon walks next to him and Crawdaunt brings up the rear, likely glaring at everyone. That thought puts a smile on Green’s face.

He recalls Crawdaunt and Sylveon once they’re inside, heading towards his office. Green quickly checks his Pokegear; 11:48. Only twelve minutes until break.

Out of impulse, he randomly texts something to Red. 

_ ‘did u know that pinsir is the only non-fighting type who learns vital throw?’ _

He doesn’t get an immediate reply and is instantly nervous that he might be bothering Red, but in a minute he gets a response;  _ ‘No’ _ . Green doesn’t really know what he expected.

_ ‘well now u do’ _ , he replies.

_ ‘How did u know this’ _ , Red asks after a bit. Green snorts.

_ ‘blaine and days of being roommates’ _ , he texts. Learning random bits of trivia had left him with many bits of random knowledge. He pauses for a moment, and then says,  _ ‘growlithe is exactly 19 kg. arcanine is exactly 155 kg. they’re both very fluffy.’ _

_ ‘They are’ _ , Red replies. A pause, and then,  _ ‘Blaine told u this didn’t he’ _

_ ‘yes. how did u know? :)’  _ Green texts, smiling. 

Someone knocks on his door, and then enters. It’s Ida, her hair dripping with water and looking rather alarmed. Green quickly texts Red  _ ‘have 2 go, bye.’ _ , and then closes his Pokegear.

“Lead the way,” he says to Ida, and they head out of the office.


	17. Red

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright so I almost forgot it was Monday but thankfully, I remembered. Here it is; chapter 17.
> 
> The story I'm going to be doing after this is called Dark Pulse. It's from the point of view of Iris's Hydreigon from her battle in B/W 2, before and after it was captured. I'm nearly finished Filler Title, so once I'm done that I can start planning out Dark Pulse. Hopefully it'll be good.
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> -Jay

“I have to go soon,” Lance says one day while they’re all sitting around in the lounge. 

Red, feeding Pikachu bits of food, looks up in confusion.  _ Why? _ he signs.

“The Champion’s conference,” Lance says. “It’s a meeting involving all the current regional champions. I believe it’s held in Sinnoh this year.” He looks at Red, eyes thoughtful, and then says, “You could go.”

Red frowns, petting Pikachu idly. He  _ is _ the Kanto champion… but he’s not sure if he wants to go.

“If you’re worried about there being too many people, it will only be the champions,” Lance adds. “Five people. That’s all.”

_ Five people,  _ Red thinks.  _ That’s all _ . 

It doesn’t stop him from curling slightly in on himself, gnawing on his lip. Pikachu scampers up onto his shoulder, nuzzling him reassuringly.

“You don’t have to go,” Lorelei says gently. “Lance can do it instead.”

_ Isn’t it my responsibility, though? _ Red wonders.  _ I’m the champion. But Lance has to deal with all of this. _

  
  


He’s lying on his bed later that evening, staring at the ceiling. Pikachu has dozed off, curled up in a fluffy yellow ball on Red’s pillow.

There’s a sudden beeping sound coming from his bedside table and Red blinks, sitting up. His Pokegear beeps once more, then falls silent. Red reaches out to grab it and turns the device on.

_ You have a new message. Swipe to unlock home screen. Tap to read message. _

The message is from Green, who is lamenting about how his Rhyperior is sad because Arabella’s jerk of a Stantler ate all the Cheri berries. Red smiles for a brief second, and then frowns.

He does want to tell Green about the conference, but at the same time he doesn’t want to. What would Green think of him? Uncertainty swirls in his stomach and Pikachu, who woke up because of the beeping, nuzzles him worriedly.

The Pokegear beeps again.  _ ‘hey u okay?’ _ Green texts. Red doesn’t know how to respond, so he just stares at the screen blankly.

There’s a long pause, and then Green suddenly texts,  _ ‘k i’m coming over.’  _ There’s another pause, and then Green adds,  _ ‘that ok?’ _

Red stares up at the ceiling, still hesitant. Pikachu nuzzles him curiously, and then nudges him firmly.

_ You want me to say yes? _ Red signs, giving Pikachu a skeptical look. Pikachu slowly nods its head and nudges Red again, more insistently. 

_ Really? _ Red signs. Pikachu nods again, rather reluctantly, and nudges him, fur sparking slightly. Red hisses softly at the feeling and quickly texts back,  _ ‘It’s ok’ _ .

_ ‘k. u better unlock the door.’ _

Red turns off the device and sets it on the table, then gets up and goes downstairs. Lance is leaning against the wall, typing something. It’s not an unusual sight, but what really draws Red’s attention is the small pokemon curled up on his head. Red can’t help but think that he’d seen that pokemon before.

“What’s that, Lance?”

__

Lorelei and Agatha stroll leisurely into the hallway, both laughing when Lance starts. The pokemon on his head jumps off, cottony wings flaring.

_ Oh, _ Red realizes.  _ It’s a Swablu. _

“It’s a Swablu,” Lance says, closing his Pokegear and reaching towards the pokemon. It lands on his arm and chirps brightly, folding its wings back and curling up into a little cotton ball of fluff. Pikachu squeaks curiously, leaning forward to get a better look at the flying-type.

“I haven’t seen those around before,” Lorelei says. “I’m guessing they aren’t native to Kanto?”

“They aren’t,” Lance confirms, looking a little nervous.

“Not native to Kanto, hm, Lance?”

“Wonder who it’s from. A gift, perhaps.”

Both women laugh and Lance presses a hand to his forehead, looking more and more mortified by the minute. 

“What’s that?” Bruno says, walking in from the kitchen.

“It’s a Swablu,” Lorelei says. “From  _ someone. _ ”

Bruno crosses his arms. “That someone. The someone you were training with.”

“Training, hm, Lance?”

“Why, you never told us about this.”

Red decides right now that it would be a good time to leave, edging around Lorelei and Agatha and quickly exiting. Green’s not in the lobby, so he heads outside to wait. Pikachu climbs up onto his head and stares up at the sky, fur spiking. 

Moments later, a shadow appears in the sky. Pidgeot alights neatly in front of Red and Green jumps off, petting Pidgeot for a few seconds and then recalling it.

“Heyo,” Green says, giving Red a half smile. “You alright? You’re not looking so great there.”

Pikachu hops onto Red’s shoulder and glares, calming slightly when Red reaches up and scratches Pikachu’s ears softly. 

_ I’m fine,  _ he signs. 

Green squints at him skeptically, but doesn’t argue. “Kay. You wanna go inside, or are we just gonna talk out here?”

Red shrugs, biting his lip, and Pikachu’s fur sparks protectively. Green softens, reaching out for a moment and then pulling his hand back. “Sorry. I’m… honestly worried. You seem really worried about something.”

_ I am,  _ Red signs.  _ Can we go inside? _

“Eh, why not,” Green says, releasing Sylveon. It lands on the ground with a bright chirp and its ribbons flare out in a show of pink. A gust of sweet-scented air blows through the Red releases a breath he’d been unconsciously holding and relaxes.

_ Let’s go, _ he signs. Green scoops up Sylveon, and smiles, nodding.

“Let’s.”

They enter the League building together and then the League quarters. Agatha is standing there and raises a brow upon seeing Green.

“Didn’t expect to be seeing you here. Good friends, are you?”

“I hope so,” Green says. Sylveon jumps out of Green’s arms and stares directly at Agatha, tendrils flaring in a show of protectiveness. Red can’t help but think that that’s rather sweet.

“Well, don’t worry,” Agatha says. “I trust that you two will be fine. You should have told one of us, though.”

_ Sorry, _ Red signs, and Pikachu hangs its head as well.

“Sorry,” Green translates.

“I suppose it’s alright,” Agatha says. “I will tell the other Elites. How long are you,” she turns to address Green, “going to stay?”

“I… don’t know?” Green says. “I guess until Red asks me to go?”

“Well?” Agatha says, turning towards Red.

Red shrugs. He hadn’t really thought this through.  _ What time is it? _ he signs. Green pulls out his Pokegear and checks.

“8:56.”

“8:56,” Agatha repeats. “It’s quite late. Are you going to stay overnight?”

“I have no idea?” Green says. “It’s Red’s choice.”

Red blinks as both of them suddenly turn to him. Pikachu nudges him insistently and Red bites his lip.

_ Sure, _ he signs. Green blinks. 

“Is that a yes or a no?” Agatha asks. “We can’t all read sign language, you know.”

“It’s a yes,” Green says, scooping Sylveon back into his arms. 

“Well, alright,” Agatha says. “I will tell the others. You two go upstairs and don’t cause any mayhem.”

“No mayhem,” Green says, nodding. Red nods as well, and leads Green upstairs.

Sylveon jumps out of Green’s arms and onto Red’s bed as soon as they enter his room, stretching out happily. Green moves to sit next to Sylveon, petting it lazily. Pikachu jumps down to curl up next to Sylveon as well and Red shuts the door before going to sit next to Pikachu.

“Okay,” Green says. “What were you worried about? I can tell something’s up.”

Red laces his fingers together and watches Pikachu stare adoringly at Sylveon. 

“Out with it, buddy,” Green says, not unkindly. “I won’t judge. You know that.”

_ There’s a meeting happening, _ Red signs.  _ It’s happening soon.  _

“And you don’t know if you want to go,” Green finishes. “I mean, you don’t have to. You could just get Lance to represent you like he did with the Kanto conference.”

_ It’s for champions, _ Red stresses. 

“So?”

Red stares at the wall behind Green and hopes that Green will somehow understand what he’s trying to say.

“Okay, okay,” Green says. Something gently touches his leg and Pikachu climbs up onto his shoulder, nuzzling him gently. Sylveon looks up and a soft breeze comes from out of nowhere, calming him.

“If you really want to go,” Green says, “go.”

Red gestures towards his mouth.  _ Can’t speak. _

“Oh yeah,” Green says. “Oops. I should have realized… yeah.”

Red nods and an awkward silence falls over them. He pets Pikachu rhythmically, staring at the wall.

“Okay, okay okay,” Green says. “I have an idea. Do any Elites know sign?”

_ Lance, _ Red signs. He blinks at Green.  _ Do you mean? _

“Lance could go with you,” Green says. “He could act as a translator. Can he, well, understand you?”

_ Some of what I sign, _ Red signs,  _ he understands. _

“There we go,” Green says triumphantly. “Perfect. You go and Lance goes with you as a translator.”

That… actually sounds alright. Red feels himself smile slightly. Pikachu squeaks happily and Sylveon chirps.

“Good?” Green says. Red nods and Green smiles, petting Sylveon. “Good.”

They both fall into pure silence. Pikachu jumps down from Red’s shoulder and curls back up next to Sylveon, who chirps curiously. Green scratches Sylveon behind its ears and smiles when Sylveon’s eyes close and it chirps happily.

“I have an idea,” Green says, out of the blue. Red blinks at him.

_ What is it? _

“Let’s watch some random movie,” Green says. “Something that we can laugh at.”

Red tilts his head, eyes flicking to the wall behind Green for a moment.  _ Okay. _

“Great,” Green says cheerfully. “Monty Python and the Holy Grail is absolutely hillarious. Let’s watch it.”

Red smiles and goes off to get his PC.  _ How do you know that?  _ he signs.

“I don’t,” Green says. “But I’m assuming it is.”

Red sits down next to Green and gently scoops Pikachu into his arms. Sylveon blinks its eyes open, looks at Green, and then jumps up onto Green’s lap.

He sets the PC down and turns it on. Green looks away for a moment while Red accesses his PC and then goes to find the movie.

“Go to  freemovie.org ,” Green says. Red does as Green says and then finds Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

“Alright, you ready for something stupid but funny?” Green says, grinning. Red nods and clicks play.

The movie opens with ‘King Arthur’ and his friend pretending to ride Mudsdale by clapping Nutpea berry shells together. Green laughs and Pikachu wakes up, blinking hazily. Red huffs out a small laugh as well, blinking in surprise.

He starts feeling a little drowsy around thirty minutes into the movie, while King Arthur and his gang of trainers try to invade a castle. Red yawns widely, smiling, and continues watching as the odd trainers push some odd contraption towards the castle.

“I think they forgot something,” Green comments with a small laugh. Red frowns. 

_ What? _

“They’re just pushing an empty wooden Buneary towards the castle. They’re not going to get in that way.”

As it turns out, Green is right. He bursts out laughing when the giant Buneary is thrown off the castle and on top of the poor trainers and Red smiles. Pikachu squeaks unhappily at the sound and curls up in Red’s arms.

“Sorry, Pikachu,” Green says, softening his voice. Pikachu ignores him, going back to sleep. Red Pikachu gently, then recalls Pikachu and they keep watching.

He falls asleep to the sounds of people singing and Green laughing. The sound puts a smile on his face and as he drifts off, he can’t help but think that Green feels pleasantly warm.


	18. Green

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hallelujah, I've done it. Filler Title has been finished!
> 
> I will continue to post chapters of Filler Title over a staggered amount of time, just to give me time to plan everything out. I'm hoping that Dark Pulse and its sequel will be better than Filler Title. That's the point of writing, after all. And yes, I am going to write a sequel to Dark Pulse from Iris' point of view. I can't fit everything I want into Dark Pulse, so new story! Also, I wanted to write some good character development for Iris because she is very under appreciated, so yeah.
> 
> Anyhow, I hope you enjoy!
> 
> -Jay

Early in the morning, Green pushes himself into a sitting position and nudges Red awake. As much as it would be nice to keep sleeping, he has definitely overstayed his welcome.

“Hey, sleepyhead,” he says quietly. “I have to go, okay?”

Red blinks at him hazily, then rolls over and promptly goes back to sleep. Green stifles a laugh and slides out from under the covers, stretching with a yawn and then heading downstairs. He can shower and eat at his own apartment.

To his surprise, there’s someone downstairs. Two someones. Lance is sitting cross-legged on the floor next to some guy with blue hair, petting a small bird-like Pokemon. Green wonders what it is for a brief moment, then shrugs it off. 

Blue Hair looks up suddenly, staring directly at Green with curious eyes. Lance looks up as well and starts, half jumping off the floor. The little bird Pokemon chooses that moment to sit on top of Lance’s head and Green stifles a snicker.

“Hello,” Lance says, a little awkwardly. Blue Hair rolls his eyes, rather affectionately Green notes, and reaches up to remove the little bird from Lance’s head, scooping it gently into his arms.

“I didn’t see you coming,” Lance continues, clearly embarrassed. The little blue bird chirps brightly and flits out of Blue Hair’s grasp, fluttering up onto his shoulder. 

Green shrugs awkwardly. “You two dating or something?” he asks.

It had been meant as a joke, something to alleviate the tension. He didn’t expect Lance to start stuttering, face resembling a tomato.

“Arceus, you are!” he says in realization. Then the idea really hits him. “Wait. You have a boyfriend. You, dragon Zubatman himself?”

Lance glares, eyes smoldering, while Blue Hair’s shoulders shake with quiet laughter.

“Yes, we’re dating,” Blue Hair says eventually, leaning against Lance’s shoulder. “There is one thing I’m curious about, though. Dragon Zubatman? Is it because of the cape?”

“Of course,” Green says, gesturing. “Have you seen him? Posing all dramatically, cape swinging about. Dragon Zubatman. No other word for it.”

Lance scowls at Green. “The cape is not dramatic,” he snaps, crossing his arms. 

Blue Hair stops laughing and pats Lance’s shoulder comfortingly. “I’m sure it’s not,” he says. “It’s just… very goth.”

Green bursts out laughing as Lance scowls even more, this time directing his gaze towards Blue Hair.

“I’m sorry,” Blue Hair adds, brushing a light kiss over Lance’s cheek with a smile. “But it’s true.”

“Admit it, Lance,” Green says, because he’s just like that. “It’s true.”

“Fine,” Lance mutters after a bit. “It is…  _ goth. _ But it has important historical connotations!”

“I know,” Blue Hair says soothingly. The little blue Pokemon flies onto Lance’s head with a happy chirp and finally Green recognizes it; a Swablu. Probably a gift, since they’re not native to Kanto.

“So,” he says, “what’s your name?”

“Hm?” Blue Hair says. “Oh. I’m Steven. You are… ?”

“Green,” Green says. “Nice to meet you, I guess.”

Blue Hair AKA Steven nods, smiling slightly, and holds his arms up. Swablu jumps down from Lance’s head and cuddles happily into Steven’s arms.

“Having fun?” someone says suddenly. Green jumps, spinning around. Agatha is standing there, snickering.

“Arceus, don’t do that!” he says, moving aside quickly. Agatha cackles, whacking Green’s leg lightly with her cane.

“You youngsters make it so easy,” she says, walking down the stairs. “Honestly, Lance. I thought you had more caution than that?”

“You just appeared out of nowhere!” Lance sputters. “Stop using your Gengar to just teleport everywhere.”

Agatha laughs, banging her cane on the floor with a  _ thump.  _ “You should see it coming by now, Lance,” she says. “Good morning, Steven.”

“Good morning,” Steven/Blue Hair (Green decides to refer to him as Blue Hair) says lightly, not seeming bothered by Agatha’s sudden appearance. “Where’s Lorelei?”

“Probably still sleeping,” Agatha says with a roll of her eyes. “Even I have more energy than her, I'm thrice her age.”

“Okay,” Blue Hair says lightly. “Oh-Green, right? Would you mind not telling anyone about this?” He smiles, but Green notes the wariness in his eyes.

“Course I don’t mind,” he says, grinning. He hopes he doesn’t look like a maniac. “I won’t tell, don’t worry.”

“Thank you,” Blue Hair says, his smile becoming more genuine. “Lance?”

Lance’s face is creased in a scowl, but his eyes soften slightly at Green’s words. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, I suppose,” Green says, shrugging. Blue Hair seems friendly, but Lance, well… 

“Don’t be rude,” Agatha scolds. “Youngsters. No respect.”

Green isn’t sure if she’s talking to him or Lance, but decides to assume it’s Lance. “Well, I gotta go,” he says, heading towards the door. “Bye.”

“Goodbye!” Agatha says, smirking. What for, Green doesn’t know, but it makes him slightly nervous.

Blue Hair waves. “Goodbye! And thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Green says, then adds quickly as an afterthought, “Tell Red I said goodbye!”

“Lance will,” Blue Hair says. Green waves, grinning, and exits the League building.

Pidgeot stretches when Green lets it out, feathers ruffling in the morning breeze. Green strokes Pidgeot’s head gently. “Viridian, buddy,” he says.

Pidgeot coos softly, and lets Green climb on. A powerful push of its wings and they swoop up into the sky.

The sun has already risen and Green shields his eyes, watching a lone Pokemon fly through the clouds. 

Last night’s events start to trickle back into his mind and Green blinks. Did Red really fall asleep on top of him?

_ Did I really fall asleep cuddling Red? _

He had, hadn’t he? And he’d, well, liked it.

Why? Friends don’t fall asleep on top of other friends.

“Not now,” he mutters to himself. “Not the time to have an existential romance crisis, dude.”

Pidgeot coos curiously, turning its head to blink bright golden eyes at him. Green scratches Pidgeot’s feathers absently. “Don’t worry,” he says.

He had, though. Red was warm and soft and Green knows what the fluttery feeling in his stomach is. He’s seen enough romance movies to know.

“Not the time,” he murmurs to himself, pressing himself over Pidgeot’s back. “Really not the time, Green.”

Pidgeot gives him a  _ look  _ but thankfully doesn’t say anything. The thought remains determinedly in the back of his mind and Green sighs. It’s going to come back to bite him one day, he just knows it. 

He heads to his apartment quickly, Pidgeot in tow. Green releases all his Pokemon into the backyard, letting them stretch their legs or other limbs a bit before they have to go to the gym. Sylveon takes one look at him and chirps mischievously, winding a tendril around his arm with a soft hum.

“Sylveon, no,” Green says. Despite that, Sylveon winds tendrils around his shoulders and climbs up, settling there with a hum. Green rubs his side (which he’s pretty sure is bruised) and then carefully removes Sylveon from his shoulders.

“I have to shower and brush my teeth,” he says. “Go play with Arcanine for now, okay?”

Sylveon’s ears droop slightly, but then it perks up and gladly bounds towards Arcanine, who opens one eye and rumbles softly. Green heads into his apartment and showers quickly, then brushes his teeth.

It’s nearly 8:00, but Green snags some toast anyway, biting into it as he walks outside. He grabs the box of Pokeblocks sitting next to the back door and whistles.

“Pokeblocks, guys?”

His team all look up at the exact same time, and then immediately swarm him. Crawdaunt and Rhyperior push to the front of the crowd, reaching for the box.

“Chill, both of you,” Green says. “I’ll hand them out and then we’ll head to the gym where you’ll get some actual food, okay?”

Crawdaunt makes a chattering noise, but thankfully backs off. Green doles out the Pokeblocks and lets them eat for a couple minutes, then heads off to the gym.

“Hello, Leader,” Alan says once Green enters. He isn’t even looking at Green. Alan is creepy like that.

“You’re last,” Arabella jokes. He’s leaning on Stantler, stroking its neck lazily.

“Yeah, yeah,” Green says, rolling his eyes. “Who came first?”

“Me,” Arabella says proudly. “I beat Salma by two whole minutes.”

“My alarm didn’t go off!” Salma complains. “If it wasn’t broken, I would have beaten you all.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Bonita says. “You’re just mad because I beat you and you know it.”

“You did not beat me!”

“You teleported inside the gym!”

“Yeah, I did! And that means I beat you!”

“Guys, calm down,” Green says. “Let’s just call it a tie. I guess that means Elan and Ida came third.”

“You mean last,” Elan says, a little glumly. Ida elbows him.

“Be more optimistic,” she says. Azumarill bumps Elan’s leg with its tail, making a small frown.

“Anyways,” Arabella says, “why were you late today?”

“Yeah, why were you?” Salma says, cottoning on. 

Alan’s eyes twinkle, something Green considers a little foreboding, and says, “Were you with your friend, by any chance?”

The emphasis on  _ friend,  _ Green thinks sourly, definitely isn’t something he likes. “Tha-at doesn’t matter,” he says, not wanting to think about his relationship with Red. “I’m here now, so let’s get moving.”

“No, I want to know,” Ida says curiously. Azumarill bounces up to Green and whacks his leg with its tail, chirping accusingly. “Who was it, Alan?”

“Don’t you dare tell them,” Green snaps, bristling. Alan chuckles, leaning against the gym wall. 

“Calm down, youngster,” he says. “You’ll all just have to find out eventually.”

“Well, if you’re not going to tell us, we’ll just have to figure it out ourselves,” Bonita says determinedly. “Who has Green been with in the past weeks?”

“He was in Cinnabar, ‘visiting someone’, I remember,” Arabella says.

“And he wasn’t there on Sunday,” Salma continues, head tilted.

“It was the weekend!” Green protests. “The gym’s closed!”

“You weren’t at your apartment either,” Salma counters.

“... It doesn’t matter,” Green says eventually. “What matters is, I’m here now and we should get moving before the first wave arrives. And no, I’m not telling you who it is.”

He is met with five displeased stares and Green crosses his arms, silently daring them to push further. Stubbornness is 50% of his personality, after all.

“Alright,” Arabella sighs eventually. “So, we have Beauty Sarah coming by at 9:30, Expert Juan at 10:00, Ace Trainer Joey at 11:00, Rich Kid Winston at 3:30, and Swimmer Cress at 4:00.”

“Great,” Green says. “Let’s get the day rolling, everyone.”

“We’ll find out, you know,” Elan adds as they head off to their regular positions.

“You can’t hide it forever,” Ida says.

“That’s creepy, you two,” Green says, shaking his head. “Don’t do that, jeez.”

Just a normal day. Another normal day in a series of normal days. Nothing to worry about.


	19. Red

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have, surprisingly enough, come up with a title for Dark Pulse's sequel. Drumroll please... it's Dragon Pulse. Not the most creative name, but I like it.
> 
> There is nothing to say except for the fact that Google Docs is stupidly laggy, so will conclude this note by saying eat your eggs.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!
> 
> -Jay

_ ‘what r u doing?’  _ Green texts while Red is on the boat.  _ ‘where r u going?’ _

_ ‘Sinnoh’,  _ Red says.  _ ‘I’m on a boat’ _ .

_ ‘sounds fun.’  _ Green says. Red stares at the screen and waits, expecting some snarky comment or random joke.

Nothing.

With a sigh, he turns his Pokegear off and sets it on the table with a thud. Pikachu, curled up on Red’s pillow, looks up with a worried squeak.

_ Fine,  _ Red signs. Pikachu stretches, yawns, and then climbs up onto Red’s lap. He pets it absently.

Green hasn’t been talking much to him, for some reason, and it worries him. Even when they hated each other, Green was always talking. Mainly insulting Red, but still. 

Stranger than Green’s silence was why he was so worried. When he’d become champion and Green disappeared for two years, Red hadn’t been too concerned. But now, his former-rival-turned-friend occupied half his thoughts. 

How did he really feel about Green? Were they friends or not?   
  


The talk Red had had with the Elites a week ago came back to mind suddenly. Any two adults could marry, even guys. It was rather confusing and not something he liked to think about. Pikachu, sensing his turmoil, climbs up onto his shoulder and nuzzles Red’s cheek gently, squeaking gently when he scritches PIkachu’s ears gently.

He reaches over and checks his Pokegear again, despite knowing full-well that there isn’t going to be any new messages. Just as he thought, nothing.

Red sighs and shuts the Pokegear again, then lies down on the bed. Pikachu climbs up onto his chest and nuzzles into his neck reassuringly. The gentle rocking of the boat lulls him into an uneasy sleep.

  
  
  


“Chuu.”

Red shifts, trying to shake off the haze of sleep. Something soft tickles his cheek and then Pikachu taps Red’s nose gently.

He yawns widely, stretching, and then sits up. Pikachu jumps onto his shoulder and pushes Red’s bangs out of his eyes with a chubby paw.

The screen of the Pokegear reads 3:52 PM. His heart falls when he sees,  _ No new messages. _

Setting the device down (a bit roughly), Red slides off the bed and heads outside his cabin. Lance is walking down the hallway towards him, Ryu curled around his neck like a scaly blue scarf.

“Oh! You’re awake,” he says when he sees Red. “We’re almost at Canalave City. Do you have everything ready?”

Red shakes his head, scritching Pikachu’s ears gently when it pokes his cheek.  _ I’ll go pack,  _ he signs.   
  


Lance nods. “You do that,” he says. “I will be on the deck. Meet me there when you’re done.”

Red nods and heads back into his cabin. Most of his stuff is packed except for a few articles of clothing and a bag of Pokefood. He quickly shoves the Pokefood and clothing into his pack, then zips it up and slings it over his shoulder.

Most of his Pokemon are in their Pokeballs, but he knows Venusaur is on the boat deck and Lapras is swimming out in the ocean. Red clips the two empty balls and the four Pokeballs containing his Pokemon onto his belt, then heads out onto the deck.

Venusaur is happily sleeping on the deck, flower wide open and basking in the sunlight. Lapras swims next to the boat, humming softly. Red waves to Lapras, who beams upon seeing him, then moves to crouch beside Venusaur, gently shaking it awake.

Venusaur looks up grouchily, rumbling unhappily until it sees who woke it. With what sounds like a semi-purr, the Grass-type pushes itself up and nudges Red’s chest roughly. Pikachu makes an unhappy sound at the sudden jolt. Red gives Venusaur’s head an affectionate rub, then recalls it with a tap of its Pokeball. 

Lapras, he notes, is floating near the front of the ship watching him and Red heads towards it. Pikachu greets Lapras happily with a chirp and Lapras hums in reply, craning its head towards Red. He gives in and rubs Lapras’s head as well, then recalls the Water-type.

“You ready?” someone says from behind him. Red starts slightly, turning around. Lance is standing there, arms crossed.

_ Yes,  _ he signs. Lance dips his head in a nod.

“Good,” he says. “The boat will land at Canalave in a few minutes and then we can fly to the Harbour Inn. Are you hungry?”

Red shakes his head and Lance nods. “Alright.”

“Attention, passengers,” a mechanical voice says suddenly. “We will be arriving in Canalave City soon. Please go onto the deck.”

Red heads towards the rail of the boat and looks out at the horizon. Canalave City looms up ahead, teeming with life. His heart pounds and Pikachu nuzzles him reassuringly.

“Is anything wrong, Red?” Lance asks, brows furrowed. Ryu chirps softly. “You look a little pale.”

_ Fine,  _ Red signs. After a hesitant moment, he adds,  _ Nervous. _

“Don’t be,” Lance says. “They’re very kind. And it’s only five people.”

Pikachu huffs softly and jabs Lance in the arm with one electrified paw. Ryu, curled around Lance’s neck, looks up and glares.

_ Thanks,  _ Red signs, pulling Pikachu off his shoulder. Lance’s attempt at comfort wasn’t very good, but it was the thought that counted. 

“Now arriving at: Canalave City,” the mechanical voice booms. “Please line up at the exit.”

“Let’s go,” Lance says, leading Red to the exit. The line starts shuffling forwards, bit by bit as the ramp lowers, and then the crowd spills out onto the pier of Canalave City.

The city is teeming with people: some biking, some walking, some jogging. A flock of Wingull soar overhead, letting out ear-piercing cries. A pair of boats are docked next to theirs and several men are unloading various cargo. The air smells of fish and salt. It’s a little overwhelming to Red. Even Celadon City was never this busy.

“It’s rather crowded, I know,” Lance says. “People from all around the world visit Canalave City.”

Red nods, still looking around. He spots a woman feeding several Wingull by the ocean, a person jogging with some odd lavender Pokemon, a child petting a Growlithe. Pokemon cries clash with the steady crash of waves against the pier, mixed with the rumble of people talking and the occasional horn. It’s so… different.

“Well, let’s get going,” Lance says. “They’ll be expecting us.” He throws out a Pokeball and Dragonite materializes with a curious hum, looking around.

“Fly, Dragonite,” Lance says, climbing on Dragonite’s back. Red makes to release Charizard but Lance holds up a hand.

“We’re flying together,” he says. “To attract less attention.”

A crowd is already forming around Lance and Dragonite and Red quickly climbs on behind Lance. Pikachu glares at the gossiping people, cheeks sparking.

Dragonite huffs softly, then jumps up into the air and flies off. Red quickly grabs onto Lance and Pikachu clings onto his arm. Ryu chirps excitedly, tail flicking about and accidentally hitting Pikachu in the face.

They land behind the Harbour Inn on a strip of grass and Lance slides off of Dragonite’s back and then reaches up to help Red down. 

_ Thanks,  _ Red signs. Lance nods, and then recalls Dragonite.

“Don’t be nervous,” he says. “They’re very kind.”

Right. The meeting. Red takes a deep breath, petting Pikachu absently, and squares his shoulders.

The Harbour Inn is brightly lit, with paintings decorating the walls. Jazzy music plays from a pair of speakers in the corner. It smells of salt and something else Red can’t quite decipher.

“We’re upstairs,” Lance says, heading towards the lady behind the counter. Red trails behind him, still trying to figure out what that odd smell is.

“Hello, how can I help you?” the lady says, staring up at Lance. “Do you want to reserve a room?”

“I’m with the people in 2D,” Lance says, digging some papers out of his pocket and presenting them to the lady.

“Oh, I see,” the lady says. “Let me just verify your reservation quickly… done. You are free to go up, sir.”

“Thank you,” Lance says, taking the papers back. “Have a nice day.”

“Have a nice day!” the lady says, waving.

Red follows Lance up the stairs and to a room labeled 2D. The faint sound of laughter drifts out into the hallway. Pikachu nuzzles Red’s cheek comfortingly as Lance pushes open the door and they walk in.

The room looks comfortable, with several people sitting on couches and armchairs. As soon as they step inside, a lady with silver-blue hair looks up and points, laughing.

“Hey, look! It’s Dragon Zubatman in the flesh!”

_ Dragon… Zubatman?? _

_ Dragon Zubatman?  _ Red signs, tilting his head at Lance. Lance exhales tiredly.

“It’s because of the cape,” he says. 

“And?” some guy with blue hair says, tilting his head.

“And the drama,” Lance says resignedly. “The cape. And the drama.”

“There you go!” the silver-blue haired lady from before says, laughing. Everyone laughs as well and Red feels himself relax a little.

“Sorry, Lance,” a woman with a white dress and wings says, still smiling. “Anyways, who’s the one with you?”

“This,” Lance says, “is Red. He’s the current Kanto champion.”

Red waves hesitantly, hoping he doesn’t look too awkward. 

“Current Kanto champion, huh,” silver-blue hair says, smirking. “You training to be Dragon Zubatman as well?”

Red shakes his head, feeling a small smile creep across his face. The silver-blue haired lady reminds him of Green, somehow.

“Aw, you’re not? Shame on you, Lance,” she says, to the laughter of everyone but Lance and Red in the room.

“Anyways,” Lance says, dragging out the ‘A’, “just introduce yourselves.”

“Fi-ine,” silver-blue hair says. “I’m Karen, Johto champion. Not officially, of course, but our current champion just kind of ditched so I get the spot. Nice to meet you!”

“My name is Diantha,” the white wings lady says, smiling serenely. “I’m the Kalos champion. It’s very nice to meet you.”

“I’m Alder, the Unova champion. Come and sit down, you’re very welcome here,” a man with red hair says, smiling gently. His voice is… soothing. Something about the way he speaks makes Red feel more relaxed. Lance sits down on an empty couch, setting his bag next to it, and Red does the same.

“My name is Cynthia,” a blonde lady says. “I’m the Sinnohan champion and I hope you enjoy your stay here!”

“My name is Steven,” the last one says lightly. “I’m from Hoenn. Pleasure to meet you.”

Red waves again, feeling a little less awkward this time. Pikachu, perched atop his shoulder waves as well, earning several laughs and smiles.

“Do you not talk?” Karen says suddenly, studying Red with sharp eyes. The nervousness from before comes back with a vengeance and Red shifts uneasily. Pikachu’s cheeks spark.

“Karen!” Diantha scolds. “That’s very rude. Do not say that to someone!” Turning to Red, she smiles apologetically. “I’m sorry about that.”

“Red is… mute,” Lance says. “He communicates using sign language. I’m here to translate.”

“Ah, so that’s why you weren’t speaking!” Karen says. “Thought it was because you didn’t like us.”

_ It’s a joke,  _ Red tells himself, but he can’t help but feel more uneasy. 

“Ignore Karen,” Cynthia says reassuringly. “None of us thought that, don’t worry.”

“You’ll be perfectly at home here, Red,” Alder says and Red relaxes a bit.

“Anyhow,” Steven says, speaking up from where he’s sitting in a corner, “we should probably get to work.”

“Can we not delay it?” Diantha says pleadingly, accompanied by sounds of agreement and nods.

“I wish,” Steven says, smiling gently, “but unfortunately we cannot.”

Red taps Lance’s shoulder and signs,  _ work? _

“Paperwork,” Lance says, after a moment. “Steven always tries to get us to do it on the first day, just to get over with it. Most of the time, he succeeds.”

Red exhales, closing his eyes for a moment. Even here, paperwork.

“We should probably get to work, though,” Cynthia says tiredly. A collective sigh ripples through the group of people as everyone grabs a stack of paper. Lance snags one and divides it in two, passing one half to Red.

“Does anyone have a spare pen?” he asks. Steven produces one from out of nowhere and tosses it across the room to Lance.

“Can I have a pen as well, Steven?” Karen says, grinning. 

“No,” Steven says dryly, but he passes her a pen anyway. Red blinks, privately wondering where all the pens came from.

“He has magic powers,” Alder whispers to Red, as if sensing his question. Red presses his lips together, stifling a laugh.

“He probably does,” Karen says, leaning over Alder and grinning conspiratorially. “I swear he has powers of teleportation or something. We were in Johto once and I spotted him standing on top of the Tohjo falls, like some sort of madman. There’s no way he scaled an actual waterfall, right?”

“He probably did,” Alder says, and they both laugh. Red smiles. Pikachu squeaks happily.

“And, he smiles!” Karen cheers, grinning. Everyone looks towards Red and he immediately stops smiling. “Aw, don’t stop.”

“Karen,” Cynthia and Diantha scold, giving her identical glares.

Karen raises her hands in surrender and backs off. “Sorry, sorry. Jeez, guys. You don’t have to be so mad.”

“He doesn’t look very comfortable,” Steven points out mildly. “Remember when I first met you?” 

“Don’t be too over-the-top with him, got it,” Karen says. “Sorry, kiddo. I’ll try to tone it down a little.”

Red nods, lacing his fingers together. The room slowly eases back into a comfortable mood, everyone talking and laughing as they work.

“You know,” Alder says suddenly, “you can sign more.”

Red stares, surprised. Pikachu squeaks curiously.

“We may not be able to understand it,” Alder says, “but that doesn’t matter. There is no shame in disability.”

Red fidgets, pressing his hands together.  _ Thank you, _ he signs hesitantly.

Alder smiles. “There we go,” he says, smiling gently. Red smiles back.


	20. Green

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am currently sitting at my desk eating flavoured ice (not a popsicle, literally flavoured ice) and resisting the urge to rip off a bandaid. Now, my brain decides, is a good time to post another chapter of this random story I am dumping online.
> 
> So here we are, chapter 20. I can't quite remember what goes down here, but I do know that it's something big so brace yourselves. I'm pretty sure Filler Title is almost done, actually, which is pretty cool!
> 
> Hope you enjoy!
> 
> -Jay

The evening sun paints the sky in a soft shade of light pink, similar to Sylveon’s fur. Green sits cross-legged on the back porch of his apartment, watching a dandelion sway in the breeze.

His Pokegear lies next to him, the open message screen taunting him. Red hasn’t messaged him in a few days and Green… Green doesn’t know what to feel. He’s not sure he really wants to know, either.

Sylveon’s ball shakes, likely sensing his anxiety, and Green brushes a finger over the capsule. It doesn’t seem to reassure Sylveon much, as the ball shakes a few more times before settling into an uneasy stillness.

He’s distracted from his thoughts by the Pokegear ringing and Green blinks, picking it up. Who could be calling him right now? He clicks  _ Accept  _ and says, “Hello?”

Blaine’s voice filters through the speakers, edged with panic. “Green. I need your help. Get to Cinnabar Island as quickly as possible and bring your Pokemon.”

“Wait,” Green says, trying to process everything. “Wait. What.”

“The volcano’s going to explode earlier than predicted. You’re the closest gym leader,” Blaine continues, “and it’s going to be some time before the Rangers arrive so we need your help. Get here as quickly as possible.” There’s a noise in the background and Blaine curses softly, then hangs up.

Green sits there, stunned for a moment, then closes his Pokegear and jumps to his feet. He quickly exits the backyard and heads towards Elan’s apartment.

The door opens a moment after he knocks and Elan is standing there, eyes widening in surprise when he sees Green. “Leader? Wha-”

“I need to teleport,” Green says. “Can your Porygon2 use teleport?”

“Ye-es,” Elan says, “but what do you need it for?”

“I have to get to Cinnabar quickly,” Green says. “Blaine asked me to.”

“Okay,” Elan says, exiting his house and closing the door behind him. Porygon2 appears in a flash of light and blinks curiously at Green. 

“Hold on to the leg,” Elan instructs. Green obeys, gripping Porygon2’s leg firmly. It’s cool and smooth under his hand.

“Teleport,” Elan continues. “Cinnabar Island.”

Porygon2 glows for a moment, and then they materialize on Cinnabar Island, right next to the Pokemon Center. Green lets go of Porygon2’s leg, stumbling slightly. The sounds of people crying drift through the air and his heart pounds. 

“Thank you,” he says, then heads off towards where Blaine and Arcanine are trying to herd a scared crowd of people towards the beach. He tosses out Sylveon and calls for a Fairy Wind, trying to calm everyone.

“Thanks,” Blaine says as the group of people start to move in a more organized way, heading towards the beach flanked by Blaine’s Arcanine and a Magmar. “You have some water and flying Pokemon, right?”

“I only have two,” Green says, summoning them. Crawdaunt lands on the ground with a cackle and immediately glares at Blaine. Pidgeot coos softly.

“That should be okay for now,” Blaine says. “We need to get the elderly and children out to Seafoam. Get your Pokemon to help.”

Green nods and heads to the beach with his Pokemon and Blaine in tow. “Children and elderly, get on the Pidgeot and Crawdaunt!” the fire-type gym leader calls out. Green helps an old lady and her husband onto Crawdaunt’s back as Pidgeot takes off, carrying three children. The ground shakes and sirens start up, wailing loudly.

Panic spreads quickly through the crowd as Crawdaunt takes off, speeding through the water. Sylveon bounds up to Green’s side and lets out another Fairy Wind, looking a little stressed. One tendril wraps tightly around Green’s arm, perhaps trying to comfort him or seeking some form of comfort. Whatever it is, they both need it.

The panic dissipates somewhat, but there’s still an underlying current of tension in the air. Families huddle together, looking around with scared eyes as the ground rumbles beneath their feet. Green looks up, praying to see Pidgeot coming back.

“Look!” someone in the crowd says suddenly, pointing out to the ocean. Green spins around, looking towards where they’re pointing, and exhales a sigh of relief. 

Two boats dock up at the shore of Cinnabar Island and a ramp lowers from each boat. Rangers, accompanied by various Pokemon, head out.

“Everyone, get on the boats!” Blaine calls out. People start obediently shuffling onto the boats and Green directs Sylveon to go help the rangers. Pidgeot lands next to Green, having finished with depositing several children.

“Is there anyone else we need to get out?” Green shouts over the blaring sirens and commotion. Crawdaunt climbs up onto the beach, looking a little tired but still determined.

“Everyone should be out!” Blaine yells hoarsely, standing on the boat’s ramp. “Come on, we have to leave!”

Green recalls his Pokemon and runs towards the boat, glad to be off the island and - what was that?

He pauses, staring towards one of the houses. Something was moving in the shadows of one of the houses. 

“What are you doing?” Blaine yells. “We have to leave!”

“Someone might still be here!” Green yells. “I’ll go check with Pidgeot. You go.”

“What-” but Green is no longer listening. Pidgeot is out in a flurry of feathers and tags along beside him as he runs towards the house.

“Is anyone there?” he yells. “If you’re there, please come out!”

The thing/person moves and then a small figure appears, clutching a plush Pikachu. A child, likely six or less, shuffles hesitantly towards him.

“Hey,” Green says, trying to pitch his voice to a more comforting tone. “Hey. We have to leave, okay? We have to get out.”

The kid sniffles, stumbling as the ground shakes. “I’m scared,” she whimpers softly. “Scared. Wha’s happenin?”

And there’s no way Green could ever tell a child that her home was going to explode, that she might never be able to live there again so he settles for comfort. “It’s going to be okay,” he says. “Climb up onto Pidgeot, we need to leave, okay?”

The girl is crying softly but Green manages to get her onto Pidgeot’s back. “Hold on,” he says. “Hold on and don’t let go.”

The ground shakes even more and Green stumbles, managing to pull himself back upright. The sirens are louder now, to the point of being almost painful, and his heart pounds.

“Pidgeot,” he calls out. “We have to go. Now.”

Pidgeot stares at him for a second, then swoops up into the air with one powerful push of its wings. Green’s heart leaps up into his throat for a moment - is he going to get out fast enough? - but Pidgeot’s talon digs into his shoulder and pulls Green up into the air. He reaches one arm up and Pidgeot’s other talon grabs it as they fly towards Seafoam. 

There’s a loud explosion and a rush of heat blows past Green, making his eyes water. He looks back, watching as Cinnabar Island is enveloped in fire and smoke.


	21. Red

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
> 
> was what I was very tempted to type here and nothing else. Then I realized that, although to my idiot brain it seems funny, is probably a bad idea. So, here's some actual text instead.
> 
> Did you know that birds are cool? Of course you did. Birds are the coolest.
> 
> Anyways, I hope you enjoy!
> 
> -Jay

Sitting with Pikachu cuddled to his chest, Red surveys the room. Cynthia and Karen are next to him talking with hushed voices and laughing occasionally. Karen is ranting about some guy named ‘Will AKA Idiot’ to Alder, who is listening patiently. Steven is coiled up next to Lance like a Persian.

Speaking of Lance.

Red tilts his head, watching. Lance mutters something and Steven looks up at him. A smile crosses Lance’s face. Red isn’t sure he’s seen Lance smile like that before. It’s a little odd.

“Wanna know why Lance is smiling like that?” Karen whispers mischievously, grinning. Red nods. He has his suspicions.

“We-ell,” Karen says, snickering, “that’s Lance’s boyfriend for you. Magic.”

Red blinks, looking towards Lance. Ice-blue eyes - Lance’s  _ boyfriend’s _ eyes - meet his own, curious. Lance looks up a moment later, frowning. “Is something wrong, Red?” he asks.

_ Nothing,  _ Red signs, shifting slightly. Lance frowns even more, but Steven’s eyes turn sharp.

“Karen, what did you do?”

“I told him,” Karen says. “He’s your protege, Lance. You shouldn’t be so afraid of coming out, especially not to him.” She jerks a finger towards Red.

“Lance,” Steven says when Lance, looking rather irritated, stands up. “You already told him you had a boyfriend. It’s fine.”

They share a meaningful look, then Lance exhales softly and sits back down. “Okay,” he says tiredly, leaning against Steven. “Don’t do that to us, though, Karen.”

“Alright,” Karen says, stretching the ‘i’. “You can’t keep it a secret forever, though, Lance.”

Lance looks rather mutinous, but doesn’t say anything. Steven looks perfectly calm, face unreadable. Red finds that a little creepy and he looks away, scratching Pikachu’s head.

The silence is interrupted by the loud buzzing of Lance’s Pokegear. Red jumps up, alarmed. Pikachu makes a noise of complaint at the sound, but realizes what it is right after and sits up in Red’s arms.

Lance quickly turns on the Pokegear and pauses, staring at the message. “We should get back to Kanto,” he says, looking at Red. 

_ Why?  _ Red signs. 

“Volcano erupted at Cinnabar Island,” Steven says, reading over Lance’s shoulder. 

“We have to get back to Kanto,” Lance says. “Now. Red?”

Red nods, standing. Pikachu jumps up onto his shoulder.

“Hold on,” Karen says, standing as well. “Do you need any help, Lance?”

“We should be able to handle it,” Lance says. “Besides, it’s dangerous. And you all have your duties.”

“But - ” Cynthia says, standing as well.

“The rangers will be there as well,” Lance says. “It’ll be fine.”

“I’m going with you,” Steven says. 

“It could be dangerous - ” Lance argues, but Steven interrupts.

“That’s the point. If it’s dangerous for us, it’s dangerous for you two as well.”

“I will be fine,” Lance says, gentler this time. “I’ll call you when it’s over, okay?”

“Alright,” Steven says after a hesitant moment. “I’ll get you two to Kanto, though. Claydol can teleport you both to Saffron.”   
  


“Are you sure,” Lance says carefully. 

Steven simply nods, pulling out a Pokeball. “Let’s go, then. We’ll see you all later.”

Red follows them outside of the inn and into the bustling streets of Canalave City. Pikachu nuzzles him comfortingly as he grasps one of Claydol’s arm-things.

“Be safe,” Steven says firmly. Lance nods, holding Claydol’s other arm. A murmured word and the world shifts.

Claydol deposits them roughly in Saffron City, right in front of the Pokemon Center. Red stumbles, feeling nauseous at having teleported so far. 

“Thank you,” Lance is saying to Claydol while Red regains his footing. “Tell your trainer we will be okay.”

Claydol spins in a slow circle, then disappears with a pop. Lance doesn’t waste any time in summoning Dragonite and climbing on.

“Let’s go,” he says. Red climbs on as well and they take off into the air. The setting sun paints the sky in a shade of fiery red.


	22. Green

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's pollen season and anyone with allergies will know what that means; uncontrollable sneezing and death. Pollen season is terrible.
> 
> On a more positive note, my garden now has lots of nice flowers! Too bad I can't really be near them.
> 
> I hope you enjoy the latest chapter!
> 
> -Jay

Pidgeot dumps Green down on the Seafoam Islands rather roughly and then lands next to him. The girl buries her face into Pidgeot’s feathers, shoulders shaking softly. Green breathes in and out deeply, trying to come down from that adrenaline high. His heart is still pounding.

“Hey,” he says to the kid quietly. “Hey. What’s wrong?”

She looks around, sniffling. And then she slides off of Pidgeot and buries her face in her plushie.

“Green!” 

Blaine stands behind Green, looking a little flustered. “Are you okay? Any injury?” Then he notices the crying girl and shifts awkwardly.

“Hey,” Blaine says, crouching next to Green. “Don’t worry, okay? It’ll turn out fine.”

It really doesn’t seem to be working, Green muses, as the kid doesn’t seem to feel better. He and Blaine just sit there awkwardly, unsure of what to do.

Sylveon’s ball rattles at his hip and Green frowns, tapping it gently. It doesn’t stop shaking, so Green presses the release button to let Sylveon out with a swirl of pink.

The girl looks up at the sudden noise, blinking astonished eyes at the Pokemon sitting in front of her. Sylveon loops a tendril gently around the girl and trills softly, nuzzling the girl’s hair. It seems to work, as she calms down after a moment and wraps her arms around Sylveon.

“What happened?” Green whispers to Blaine, keeping a careful eye on the kid. “Where are her parents?”

“Went on a trip last week,” Blaine murmurs back. 

“And they didn’t leave anyone behind?!” Green hisses.

“Her brother, Alvin, was with her,” Blaine mutters, standing. “I’ll go find him.”

Green nods. “Hey,” he says to the girl. “Hey. Your brother will be here soon, okay? Blaine’s getting him - you know Blaine?”

“Yeah,” the girl murmurs softly. “He has an orange Pokemon. It’s fluffy.”

“Growlithe,” Green says, enunciating the syllables clearly. “It’s a Growlithe.”

“Growlithe,” the kid says. “Grow-lithe.”

“Yeah,” Green says. “A fire-type.”

“Fire-type,” the kid repeats, then falls silent.

Their relative quiet is broken by the sound of footsteps. Green looks up and a boy is running towards them, followed by Blaine. “Jenny!” he yells. “Jenny?”

The girl jumps up at the sound of his voice, beaming. “Alvin!” she cries out, running towards him. Sylveon pads up to Green and curls up next to him, watching the two reunite.

“You’re okay!” Alvin says, hugging Jenny tightly. “I couldn’t find you and then the big fire-horse pushed me out and I couldn’t get in.”

“I was so scared,” Jenny says, face buried in Alvin’s chest. “I heard the scary noise and I couldn’t find you and I only had Mr. Sparky with me and - ”

“It’ll be okay, Jenny,” Alvin says. “We’re here now. We’re safe. It’ll be okay.” 

He looks at Green, eyes wide and relieved. “Thank you, mister.”

“Thank you, mister,” Jenny echoes, voice muffled slightly. 

“You’re welcome,” Green says. He tilts his head towards the sky; the sun is setting, he notes. Pidgeot hops up next to him and nudges his leg firmly. Green reaches down, stroking Pidgeot’s feathers absently. They’re rather ruffled.

“So,” he says, looking up at Blaine. “What are you gonna do now?”

“Rebuild here, probably,” Blaine says tiredly. “Cinnabar won’t be habitable for a bit, so this is our new home.”

“How?” Green asks. “You can’t build a city all by yourself.”

“League people should be arriving soon,” Blaine says. “They’ll probably be at Cinnabar. I know you’re tired, but could you go check if they’re there?”

Green exhales. “Alright,” he says. “Pidgeot, are you okay?”

Pidgeot stands up, stretching its wings, but Green can see that Pidgeot’s tired. “I’ll let you take a break,” he says, recalling Pidgeot. “Come on, Crawdaunt.”

Crawdaunt appears in a flash and looks around, glaring at Blaine who takes a step back. “Cinnabar, Crawdaunt,” Green says. “Sylveon, come back.”

Sylveon hums softly, and then disappears inside the ball. Crawdaunt chatters softly as Green climbs on and starts surfing towards Cinnabar.

He stops Crawdaunt about a meter from the island. The island is veiled with soot and ash, though upon closer inspection the lava seemed to have cooled. 

“Circle the island, Crawdaunt,” he murmurs. “Someone might be nearby.”

Just as Blaine had expected, several League members with Lorelei leading them were next to Cinnabar, staring at the lava. Green heads towards them, whistling to catch their attention.

“I didn’t expect you to be here,” Lorelei says when he arrives. 

“Blaine asked me to help,” Green says neutrally. “They’re on Seafoam Islands.”

Lorelei nods stiffly. “Thank you,” she says. “Come along, everyone.” Green watches as they surf away.

Exhaling, he turns to head back to Seafoam with them, but something catches his eye. Green looks up with a frown and Dragonite appears in his field of vision, wings beating powerfully. 

Lance, gripping Dragonite’s neck, stares down at him with a frown. “Where is everyone?” he demands. Red peeks out from behind Lance, eyes worryingly blank.

“They’re on Seafoam,” Green says, pointing. Lance nods and banks Dragonite into a tight curve, heading towards Seafoam. Crawdaunt follows them, tail beating powerfully.

He slides off of Crawdaunt and rubs its star firmly in thanks. Red and Lance are already there, talking to Lorelei and the League people. Green decides to hang back, heading to a nearby rock and sitting down.

Someone taps him on the shoulder and Green twists around, surprised. Red is standing there, Pikachu cuddled in his arms.

_ What happened?  _ he signs. 

“I think you know,” Green says. Pikachu’s cheeks spark, but the electricity fizzles out quickly. Red doesn’t say anything, guilt and sadness showing on his face before being replaced by  _ that  _ blank look. And Green, for once, doesn’t have enough energy to do anything about it.

_ They okay?  _ Red signs, a bit shakily. Green nods.

“Everyone got out in time.”  _ I think.  _ “But they’ll have to rebuild everything. All of it - homes, Pokemon Center, Pokemart, gym -  _ everything. _ ”

Red’s shoulders slump and Pikachu nuzzles him sadly. Crawdaunt chatters softly. 

Evening settles like a veil over the island. The tide laps at the sandy beach, reflecting the stars which are blurred in the water like silvery tears.


	23. Red/Green

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's evening in my time, so for anyone who is also in EST, I'm sorry. 
> 
> Unfortunately, as we all know September is looming and with it comes school. Already work is amping up and I may not be able to provide weekly updates for my stories, which kind of sucks. But I'll do my best.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!
> 
> -Jay

Voices. Voices and people everywhere, crowding Red and Green and Lance and Blaine. Pikachu glares at anyone who gets close, sparks flying, and Red reaches up to pet Pikachu gratefully. Blaine is gone in the sea of people and Green is swept away soon after. Lance stays close to Red, weaving a path through the crowd with firm words and a cool glare.

“Lorelei,” Lance says once they get out, nodding crisply. “How is it going?”

“Well enough,” Lorelei says, turning away from the League workers for a second. “Are you alright, Red?”

_ Fine,  _ Red signs, looking around instead of meeting Lorelei’s eyes.  _ Others? _

“Everyone made it out on time, thanks to the rangers, Blaine, and your friend,” Lorelei says.  _ Not me,  _ a voice whispers in his mind.  _ I did nothing. _ “You don’t have to worry.”

“We’ll have to make an official statement soon,” Lance says to Lorelei. “Do you have the time?”

“I should be able to make it,” Lorelei says, checking her Pokegear. “If everything goes as planned… then I’ll be able to.”

He should do something, Red knows. Neither Lance nor Lorelei are the champion; he is. And press is supposed to be his job. Keeping people safe is supposed to be his job.

But he does nothing, as always. Pikachu nuzzles him soothingly and Red pets it absently. Lance will do his job for him and Red will hide away because he doesn’t know much else.

  
  
  


It’s this that brings him to where he is now, he thinks a little bitterly, sitting at the dining table staring at newspaper headlines on his Pokegear. The words sting.

_ Child Rescued by Gym Leader, Reunites with Parents _

_ “I was terrified”, says Citizen of Cinnabar Island _

_ Opinion: Are Kanto’s Elite Four Doing a Good Job? _

They might as well have been all called  _ Our Champion Failed _ . Because that’s what happened. He should have been there to help everyone. The Elites shouldn’t have to do what was his job, and Green most certainly shouldn’t have had to, either.

_ New message,  _ his Pokegear reads. Red ignores it and shuts the device off, heading upstairs. He doesn’t really want to talk to anyone right now.

“Leader Green! Do you have time to talk about… ”

“Leader Green! What do you think of…”

“Green! You are the champion’s former …”

Green wiggles his fingers in a wave and flashes the crowd his most charming smile. He’d be lying if he said he didn’t enjoy the attention, just a little bit. “Excuse me,” he says. “Would you mind? Thank you - okay, one question.”

He works his way through the crowd, trying to get to Red. Green can - barely - see Pikachu’s tail and a hint of Red’s cap through the mass of people and soon enough, it vanishes behind a camera. “Excuse me,” he says, a bit firmer now. “Alright -  _ fine,  _ I’ll answer.”

He finally breaks free from the crowd of people and looks around hopefully. A shadow passes over head and Green exhales.

Dragonite. Undoubtedly with Lance. And probably Red as well.

Green turns back to the mass of people and smiles, pretending that his stomach isn’t twisted up in worried knots.

  
  
  


That, he thinks a little ruefully, was what brought him here. Sitting on the floor of his arena, staring at the message screen for - what, exactly? For a message? For a reply?

Sylveon pads up to him and nudges Green with a paw. He looks up, trying to smile. “Yeah, Sylveon?”

Sylveon waits patiently until all of Green’s attention is fixed on her, then raises her head towards the ceiling and exhales a powerful ring of swirling fire. The flames come together and then expel in a forceful burst, scorching the ceiling.

It takes him a moment to realize what happened, but once he does he beams. “You learned Mystical Fire!” he says proudly, scratching Sylveon’s ears. “Good job!”

Arcanine bounds up to Green as well and barks proudly, tail wagging. Green doles out pets and scratches to Arcanine as well, allowing himself to take comfort in his Pokemon.

Despite Sylveon’s attempts of comfort, Green can’t shake the feeling of anxiety from his chest. He quickly sends Red a message, hoping for something.

Nothing. Nothing at all in days.

Why, he wonders? And what now?


	24. Red

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's only, like, six chapters until this story is over. Everything's coming to an end - except maybe not, since I'm considering expanding this series but who knows?
> 
> Anyhow, the big plot climax is here. Hope you enjoy! 
> 
> -Jay

_ Ringringringring. _

His Pokegear is vibrating. Red pauses from helping Snorlax and checks the device. Green is trying to call him. His hand hovers over the  _ Accept  _ button.

Snorlax yawns widely and bumps Red’s arm, smiling lazily. Red fumbles with the Pokegear, managing to catch it before it slips.

“Red?”

Red’s heart stops as he stares at the screen. Blinking at him, eyes narrowed, is the exact person he did  _ not  _ want to see.

“I wanted to say hi,” Green says carefully. “And to talk.”

Red cautiously signs a greeting, setting the Pokegear against Snorlax’s outstretched paw and then sitting down.

“Hello to you, too,” Green says, smiling faintly. Sylveon peeks over his shoulder in the background, chirping softly. “What’re you doing?”

Red flips the camera to show Snorlax, who opens one eye and gives a lazy rumble. Laughter filters through the speakers, bright and clear. “Nice.”

The camera flips back and Red is staring into Green’s (ironically) hazel eyes.  _ You want to talk?  _ he signs.

“Yeah, I do,” Green says, crossing his arms. Sylveon nudges him gently and then pads away. “How come you haven’t been talking - well, not talking - to me? What happened?”

Which, Red thinks unhappily, is exactly what he did not want Green to ask. He shakes his head in response.

“Not an answer, buddy,” Green says, not unkindly. Red’s stomach twists. “Just tell me. What’s wrong?”

_ Nothing,  _ Red signs out, slowing it on purpose to get the point across.  _ N-o-t-h-i-n-g. _

“If it’s nothing, then there’s nothing wrong with telling me,” Green says, eyes narrowing fiercely. Red forces himself not to flinch and stares right back, matching Green’s gaze.

_ Stop,  _ he signs.  _ Don’t want to talk. _

“Yeah? Why not?” Green challenges, voice rising. “You’re always sad or scared about everything. Tell me.” 

Red feels his heart stop at those words because he knows Green is right. Green is right about most things. And he should. He should tell Green about it.

He doesn’t. He doesn’t because he’s scared, scared that people will bully him and laugh at him for it. Scared of the world, scared of everything beyond his little bubble. Scared that their steadily growing friendship will crumble because of him and his problems.

“Why won’t you just talk to me!” Green snaps, then his voice drops. “What is it, huh? Am I not good enough for you, the  _ champion _ ?”

White noise is building up in Red’s ears and he’s scared, he really is.  _ No,  _ he wants to say.  _ No. That’s not it please no.  _ He wants to yell, scream.  _ Say something!  _ his mind screams.

But he never had a voice in the first place.

“You’re just scared,” Green says and his words are knife-sharp. “The hero of Kanto, the kid who defeated Team Rocket. Scared of the world. Like a coward. Is that what you are, huh? A coward?!”

Red doesn’t do anything, doesn’t sign anything, just sits there and stares blankly at the screen. His heart pounds, blood rushing in his ears.

“Shi - ” Green says but Red doesn’t hear the rest of it. His arm moves of its own accord, jabbing the  _ Hang up  _ button, cutting Green off with a harsh hiss of static. 

The ensuing silence is deafening.

Venusaur pads up to Red and nudges him with an outstretched vine, rumbling worriedly. Charizard swoops down and lands next to him, growling angrily at the offending device. Snorlax does nothing but looks at Red with gentle eyes, while Machamp glares. 

Numb. Numb is all he feels. Distantly, he registers the feeling of Pikachu’s ball vibrating furiously against his hip but Red doesn’t do anything about it, sitting there staring at the screen. 

“Red?”

That voice is familiar, he thinks distantly, turning around. Lorelei is standing there, eyes wide with concern. “You’ve been out here for a long time, Red. What’s wrong?”

Lapras, who has been steadily trying to get to him the whole time, finally manages to push its way to sit next to Red and nudges him with one flipper, gesturing to Lorelei with the other. The message is clear.

_ Argument,  _ Red signs. He hesitates, then adds,  _ With Green. _

Lorelei’s eyes narrow with rage, before she takes a deep breath and puts on a calmer face. “Let’s go inside,” she says, holding out a hand. Red takes it and pulls himself up. “I’ll get Agatha to make some hot chocolate for you.”

Red nods, still feeling a little lightheaded. Venusaur bumps the button on its Pokeball and recalls itself, disappearing in a flash. The rest of his Pokemon obediently follow suit, save for Snorlax who Red recalls on his own. 

“Come on, Red,” Lorelei says gently. “Let’s go.”

Agatha is waiting at the door and her eyes narrow upon seeing them. “What happened?” she asks, stepping forwards.

“I’ll tell you later,” Lorelei says, squeezing Red’s shoulder comfortingly. 

“Hot chocolate?” Agatha asks. 

“Hot chocolate,” Lorelei confirms. “Blanket, too.”

In no less than ten minutes, Red is sitting on the sofa wrapped in a blanket holding a steaming mug of hot chocolate (topped liberally with marshmallows). Pikachu is curled up in his arms, ears poking out from beneath the blanket.

The reality of what just happened hits him suddenly and Red pulls his knees up to his chest, burying his face in the blanket. Pikachu squeaks, wriggling its way out of Red’s arms to sit on his shoulder, nuzzling him comfortingly.

Green was angry at him. Green probably hated him. That thought made his heart sink, filling his chest with emptiness.

“Red. Red, sweetheart?”

It’s not Lorelei’s voice. Red looks up, surprised, because that was his mother’s voice.

Lorelei sits down next to him, holding the Pokegear in front of them. His mother moves closer to the camera, eyes wide with worry. “What happened, sweetheart?”

“Argument,” Lorelei says when Red doesn’t do anything, too overwhelmed. “With  _ Green. _ ”

“Oh no,” his mother says, leaning closer. “Oh no. Sweetie, are you feeling alright? Do you want me to come over?”

_ It’s fine,  _ Red signs shakily. 

His mother gives him a sad look, but doesn’t say anything, instead deciding to change the subject. “How is Pikachu?” she asks. Pikachu jumps down onto Red’s knees, squeaking softly towards the screen.

“You’re so sweet,” Red’s mother murmurs. “I’m glad Red has you as a partner.”

Pikachu nods firmly, ears twitching. 

“Are you feeding Pikachu enough?” his mother continues, looking directly at Red. Pikachu snickers softly, bumping Red’s chest with a mischievous look. Red rolls his eyes but signs an affirmation.

“Good,” his mother says. “You should eat more, too. You’re skinny as a twig.”

“We try,” Lorelei says, a hint of a smile in her voice.

Red’s mother laughs and it’s a heartwarming sound. “I’m sure you do. Thank you for taking care of him, Lorelei. I’m very grateful.”

“It’s no problem, he’s a sweetheart,” Lorelei says. “You raised a wonderful child.”

“Thank you,” his mother says. “How is Agatha?”

Red settles back into the couch, letting their voices wash over his ears. Pikachu coils up in his arms.

He’s going to have to talk to Green. The thought of that makes his heart pound and Red stares up at the ceiling.

Distantly, he notices that the hot chocolate has gone cold. He doesn’t really care.


	25. Green

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aight, school is starting! Yay?
> 
> Seriously, though, anyone who is attending in person please stay safe. Wear a mask, socially distance, don't touch your face, be careful. Especially if you have people at risk living with you; if you're a teenager (which I assume you are) you will likely survive but others may not.
> 
> On a lighter note, I hope you enjoy!
> 
> -Jay

Sitting cross-legged in front of his Pokegear (which is propped up against a wall), Green finds himself hating the stupid ringtone. The stupid bells and the stupid jazzy tone and… 

He’s being ridiculous. There’s no reason to hate the ringtone, except suddenly he does.

“He probably won’t answer,” Green says tiredly to the air. With a sigh, he leans forwards to cancel the call- 

-and then Red’s face appears on the screen.

“Red?”

Red stares at Green, eyes wide. Green narrows his eyes, bracing himself on his hands and taking a deep breath.  _ This is your chance. Now. _

“I wanted to say hi,” he says carefully. “And to talk.”

Red signs  _ Hi  _ and the camera shifts suddenly, showing Red sitting down. 

“Hello to you, too,” Green says, forcing a smile. It’s going well so far. Sylveon pads up to his shoulder and looks at the screen, chirping softly. “What’re you doing?”

The camera flips to show Red’s Snorlax, lying lazily on the ground surrounded by broken branches. Green laughs, feeling relieved all of a sudden. This could work. This’ll go well.

The camera flips back and Green is staring into Red’s (funnily enough) red eyes.  _ You want to talk?  _

Here goes. “Yeah, I do,” he says, instinctively crossing his arms. Sylveon nudges him gently and then pads away, presumably heading outside. “How come you haven’t been talking - well, not talking - to me? What happened?”

Red doesn’t respond, instead shaking his head. Green exhales silently, trying not to be frustrated. “Not an answer, buddy,” he says, pitching his voice to be more reassuring. “Just tell me. What’s wrong?”

_ Nothing,  _ Red signs slowly, then signs it again.  _ N-o-t-h-i-n-g. _

He hasn’t heard from Red in  _ weeks.  _ Right after a volcano exploded and Red had obviously been sad. There was no way it was  _ nothing. _

“If it’s nothing, then there’s nothing wrong with telling me,” Green says determinedly. Red stares back, eyes cold and blank.

_Stop._ _Don’t want to talk._

He shouldn’t. He really, really shouldn’t but he’s unhappy and frustrated and ( _ scared _ , his mind whispers but Green ignores it) tired of Red’s unending silence.

“Yeah? Why not?” he says, voice rising. “You’re always sad or scared about everything. Tell me.” 

Nothing. Nothing nothing nothing; always nothing, whether rivals or friends. 

“Why won’t you just talk to me!” Green snaps, then his voice drops. “What is it, huh? Am I not good enough for you, the  _ champion _ ?”

_ He’ll hate you for this,  _ his mind whispers.  _ Stop. Stop. Stop stop stop. _

All his anger, all his worry, everything he’d felt in the past weeks, it all comes rushing out like a burst of fire.

“You’re just scared,” Green snarls.  _ Like me. _ “The hero of Kanto, the kid who defeated Team Rocket. Scared of the world. Like a coward. Is that what you are, huh? A coward?!”

The last word comes out louder than he had expected and Green slumps slightly, feeling tired all of a sudden. Blood rushes in his ears, filling his head.

Red is staring at him, face blank as always, but his eyes are wide and scared and it hits Green all of a sudden what he had done.

“Shi-  _ Staryu _ \- Red!” was what he was about to say, but the call ends abruptly with a hiss of static. Green stares at the screen for a few seconds, then slumps back onto the wooden floor.

He really,  _ really,  _ messed this up, didn’t he. Red didn’t deserve all that he’d said. Red wasn’t like that. Red was the Kanto champion, the hero. Red was the one everyone respected and loved.

A ribbon touches his forehead and Green looks up, staring into Sylveon’s eyes. Sylveon sits down next to him and hums comfortingly, likely already sensing his emotions.

“Thanks, Sylveon,” Green mutters, pushing himself up. Sylveon keeps up a steady hum, helping ease away the static filling his head. It’s enough to keep him calm for now.

_ What now?  _ he wonders, turning off the Pokegear and shoving it into his pocket.  _ What do I do now? _


	26. Red

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I almost forgot to update the story but suddenly my brain was like 'dude wait it's Monday' and I was like 'you're right' so here I am! 26th chapter (I think) coming right up. 
> 
> This is pretty random, but let me just say that the BW low-health theme is really, really cool. Hoenn has my favourite soundtracks (especially vs Groudon/Kyogre/Rayquaza) but Unova comes in close second.
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> -Jay

Pikachu jumps from pillar to pillar, getting higher each time. With a fierce cry, electricity crackles in between its ears and a vicious Thunder strikes the target dead-on. There’s a whooshing sound and then a powerful Hydro Pump hits the target as well, quenching the small fires left by Thunder and splattering the field with water.

Red nods, crossing his arms.. Pikachu lands on the ground, doing a flip for good measure, and squeaks hopefully.

An unhappy roar comes from the sky and Red looks up, confused. Venusaur has managed to grab Charizard’s legs with its vines somehow and is tugging Charizard downwards. A Fire Blast sears through the air towards Venusaur, who immediately lets Charizard go and throws up a Protect. The fire dissipates, bouncing off of the shield and hitting Machamp, who roars angrily at the burn and charges Venusaur. Snorlax looks up and then slams a heavy fist on the ground, making Red stumble but stopping Machamp, Venusaur, and Charizard in their tracks.

“Enough training,” Bruno says firmly from where he is standing on the sidelines. “You and your Pokemon are tired. Inside now.”

Red nods, recalling everyone but Pikachu and turning to head inside. Bruno pauses for a moment, staring at Red with surprisingly sharp eyes.

_ What?  _ Red signs, feeling a bit irritated. 

“You are in turmoil,” Bruno says, sitting down. “In this state, you cannot become better. You must look at your emotions.”

Red exhales tiredly and plops down next to Bruno, shoulders slumping.  _ Argument. With Green. _

“I know,” Bruno says. “How do you feel about it?”

How  _ does  _ he feel about it?

Pikachu climbs up onto Red’s shoulder and squeaks softly. Red pets Pikachu absently, trying to work his way through the knot of emotions in his chest. 

_ Hurt,  _ he signs carefully. 

“You feel hurt by his words,” Bruno says. “Why are you hurt?”

_ Because -  _ Red signs, and then pauses. Green had insulted him many times before and it had never really made much difference to Red. Why did it hurt so much now?

_ My friend,  _ he signs.  _ And true. _

“He is your friend,” Bruno says. “And what was true?”

_ Words,  _ Red signs.

“And the words he says are true,” Bruno says, nodding. “What else do you feel?”

_ Sad,  _ Red signs hesitantly.  _ Frustrated. _

“You feel sad,” Bruno says. “Why do you feel sad?”

Red… really doesn’t know. The uncertainty is frustrating. Pikachu gives Bruno a look, bristling slightly. 

“Do you care about your friend?” Bruno asks.

_ Yes,  _ Red signs, frowning. Why would he not?

“You care deeply about him,” Bruno says simply. “That is why his words hurt so much. That is why you feel sad and… ”

_ F-r-u-s-t-r-a-t-e-d,  _ Red signs slowly, spelling out the letters clearly.

“Frustrated,” Bruno continues, dipping his head in a nod. “Do you think he cares about you?”

Did he?   
  


All the arguments they’d had with each other in the past… all Green said… their rivalry… Pikachu growls softly as if agreeing. The look in its eyes says it all;  _ you deserve to be angry. He doesn’t deserve your friendship. _

But Green did care, another part of his mind argued. He rescued you from drowning. He learned sign language because you were mute. All those messages and calls. He has to care, right?

Green was obnoxious. A bit cocky, sometimes. But he was Red’s friend.

_ Yes,  _ Red signs, coming to a firm conclusion.  _ I do. _

“Then you will keep being friends,” Bruno says simply. “We often say words we do not mean out of anger or frustration. Your friend is no different.”

Red nods and the knot in his chest loosens. Pikachu frowns, squeaking hesitantly as if asking,  _ are you sure? _

Red simply looks at Pikachu and nods slightly. Whatever Pikachu saw in his eyes must have been reassuring, because with a sigh Pikachu relents.

“Let us go inside now,” Bruno says, standing up. Red pushes himself up to his feet and follows Bruno into the League quarters.

Pikachu growls furiously as soon as they enter and Red blinks, looking around.

Familiar hazel eyes lock onto his and pale fingers wiggle in a hesitant wave. Sylveon flares its ribbons out in a greeting.

_ Green. _


	27. Green

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's funny how quickly the days pass by. Really makes you think.
> 
> Dark Pulse is probably going to be shorter than this story but I'm hoping Dragon Pulse will be longer. They're both stories that I'm hoping will help me work on my lack-luster character development skills. Hopefully they turn out good.
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> -Jay

This was quite possibly, Green thinks, the stupidest thing he had ever done.

Sylveon, standing next to him for moral and emotional support, hums gently and tugs on his arm as if saying,  _ do it.  _ He doesn’t even know why he’s here anymore (he doesn’t even want to be here anymore), but Green takes a deep breath and knocks anyway.

A moment passes and Green is about to leave, but then there’s a funny sound, as if something had been knocked over and the door is flung open. Lance is standing there, gripping Swablu tightly to his chest.

“You,” the dragon trainer says coldly, staring Green down. “What are  _ you  _ doing here?”

Green squares his shoulders determinedly and stares right back. “I… wanted to talk to Red,” he says.

“And why,” Lance says, stepping forwards and forcing Green to step back, “should I let you?”

Green doesn’t even get a word in before Lance is pointing towards the exit. “Leave. Now.”

“But - ”

“ _ Leave. _ ”

“Lance,” someone says quietly.

Green frowns, trying to see who said that. It’s a familiar voice and -  _ oh.  _ It’s Blue Hair.

“Hello,” he says awkwardly, waving. Blue Hair waves back, then turns towards Lance. 

“I know what you want to say,” Lance says flatly, “and the answer is no.”

“Remember Sidney?” Blue Hair says, quirking a brow.

“That’s different,” Lance says, scowling. 

“Well, yes, but also no,” Blue Hair says. They share a look and a few murmured words, then Lance sighs.

“I don’t like it,” he says. “But I’ll allow it. For now.”

Blue Hair smiles and brushes a kiss onto Lance’s cheek. “Thank you.” Turning to Green, he says, “Let’s go outside.”

A little dumbfounded at what just happened, Green follows Blue Hair outside of the League building and to a nearby patch of shade. They sit down, Sylveon coiling up in between them.

“What did you say to Red?” Blue Hair asks, tilting his head. Sylveon looks up and Green’s eyes narrow.

“Why do you want to know?”

“Call it curiosity,” Blue Hair says with a shrug. “Having your boyfriend call you outraged over what just happened to his protege does that to someone.”

Green sighs, leaning against the tree they’re sitting under. “I don’t want to talk about it,” he says.

There’s a pause, and then Blue Hair shrugs again. “Okay. Why did you say what you said to Red?”

Green stares, startled. “Do you already know?”

“I can infer,” Blue Hair says evenly. “I don’t know the full details, but I assume it was something hurtful.”

“Of course you do,” Green mutters. Sylveon wraps a tendril around his arm, projecting comforting vibes. “I don’t even know you. Why would I spill all my secrets?”

“You don’t have to,” Blue Hair says. “It is true that we don’t know each other. But that means I won’t judge you or make wrong assumptions.”

Green blinks, startled. Sylveon chirps curiously, sitting up and extending a tendril forwards. Blue Hair holds out an arm, then pauses. “May I?”

“Go ahead,” Green says, watching. Sylveon winds the tendril around Blue Hair’s forearm, closing its eyes for a second, then finally releases Blue Hair and nods to Green.  _ Tell him,  _ its eyes seem to say. 

He’s not sure he wants to, but Sylveon is insistent. A tendril whacks his head lightly.

“I… was frustrated,” Green starts, pausing. “Red didn’t talk to me in weeks. The volcano had just exploded and he seemed very sad. And guilty. I thought something was wrong.”

“You would likely be correct,” Blue Hair says. “Anyone in his position would be.”

“Right?” Green says. “I sent him multiple messages asking if he was okay and stuff. But he didn’t respond.”

“Why else?” Blue Hair says. “Just frustration?”

“I guess… worry,” Green says. “I was worried. And frustrated.”

“You were worried and frustrated,” Blue Hair says thoughtfully. “Why?”

“How would you feel if your friend ignored you for two weeks?” Green challenges.

“Fair point,” Blue Hair says, nodding. “What did you come here for?”

“I guess I wanted to talk,” Green says. “To Red. About what happened.”

Blue Hair hums thoughtfully. “What were you going to say?”

“I don’t know,” Green says tiredly. “Sorry, I guess.”

“You guess?” Blue Hair echoes, tilting his head.

“Sorry,” Green amends, then hesitates. “I don’t know.”  _ I’m not sure I want to,  _ is what he doesn’t say.

“Let’s put it this way,” Blue Hair says. “You still want to be Red’s friend, correct?”

“Yeah,” Green says, frowning. “Why would I not want to be?”

“Then apologize,” Blue Hair says with a shrug. “You can’t just ‘let it go’. You’re going to have to face it and it’s best to do so sooner than later.”

_ Is it worth it?  _ Green wonders for a brief moment.  _ I could just walk away and pretend it didn’t happen. It would make my life a lot easier. _

Sylveon is looking at him with that  _ I-know-what-you’re-thinking-and-it-isn’t-good  _ expression again and Green sighs, brushing a hand over Sylveon’s head. A ribbon whacks his head lightly.

Ultimately it comes down to what he thinks matters more; his pride, or Red’s friendship.

Years ago it might have been pride, but now he barely flinches before making his choice.

“I’ll apologize,” Green says, squaring his shoulders determinedly. Sylveon hums happily, nudging his leg with one paw. “Also… thanks, I guess.”

“You’re welcome,” Blue Hair says pleasantly. “Always glad to save someone from Lance’s wrath.”

Green laughs for what feels like the first time in days.

The walk back is quiet, but in a peaceful way instead of the tense quiet he’d always had with Red. Lance is waiting for them in the hallway, leaning against a wall with his arms crossed.

“Hey,” Blue Hair says lightly, heading towards Lance. “Everything okay now?”

Lance sighs. “I suppose so.”

The sound of the door opening makes Green turn around, wondering who it could be. Bruno enters, looking rather satisfied, and then, emerging from behind him -

_ Red. _


	28. Red

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I forgot again that it was Monday and that I was supposed to update. School really is messing with me, huh.
> 
> Question: is Romeo and Juliet a romance about hatred, love, and reconciliation or is it a tragedy about the stupidity of youth? Because people have some very different opinions and Shakespeare has always been interesting. 
> 
> Anyways, enjoy!
> 
> -Jay

Sparks are, quite literally, flying. Pikachu jumps on top of his head and glares at Green, electricity crackling in between its ears. Red reaches up to try and calm Pikachu down, but Sylveon beats him to the punch. With a fierce cry, it looses a blast of light. Red flinches back, covering his eyes.

When he opens his eyes again, Pikachu is sitting on the floor, looking a little dazed. Red immediately crouches and scoops Pikachu up into his arms, stroking its fur gently. Thankfully, Pikachu doesn’t seem to be injured and he exhales in relief.

“Uh, Red?”   
  


Red looks up. Pikachu attempts to sit up as well, ears sparking slightly, but a warning look from Sylveon easily stops it. 

“Do you want to, maybe, talk?” Green says, voice hesitant. Red shifts uncomfortably, tempted to just leave. Maybe go to the mountain Professor Oak had mentioned or somewhere far away. That would be nice.

Bruno pushes him forwards and Red stumbles, regains his footing. “Talk to him,” Bruno says, voice low. “You are friends, remember?”

Pikachu squeaks unhappily, disagreeing with Bruno’s words, but Red nods anyway. He squares his shoulders and carefully signs  _ Yes. _

The look of relief on Green’s face would have been comical had the situation not felt so serious. Sylveon winds a tendril loosely around Red’s shoulder (ignoring Pikachu’s complaints) and tugs him forwards until he’s standing right at the stairs. Green steps up next to him and Sylveon nudges them firmly. It’s clear what he’s (in Sylveon’s eyes, anyway) supposed to do.

He starts heading upstairs, Green right behind him. Pikachu squirms out of his arms to perch on his shoulder and glare at Sylveon, who hums serenely and keeps walking. They enter his room, the door shutting ominously behind them.

_ What now?  _

Unsurprisingly, Green makes the first move. “I’m sorry,” he says quickly, lacing his fingers together. “I shouldn’t have said that. It’s not true.”

_ But it is.  _ Red shrugs awkwardly, moving to sit on his bed. Green sits next to him and Sylveon jumps up as well. 

_ It’s okay,  _ he signs.  _ Not your fault. _

“Come on, Red, let me have this,” Green says with a ghost of a smile. “I shouldn’t have pushed so hard and I shouldn’t have exploded on you. That was my fault, not yours, and I’m sorry for that.”

Red nods, still feeling a bit awkward but less so now. Pikachu looks unconvinced, eyes narrowing. Sylveon reaches up with one ribbon and winds it around one of Pikachu’s little paws gently.

_ What’s it doing?  _ Red signs, gesturing towards Sylveon. Green brushes a hand over Sylveon’s fur.

“I don’t know,” he says. “Sensing Pikachu’s emotions, maybe.”

Sylveon gives them a sweet smile and lets go, humming satisfiedly. Pikachu still doesn’t look happy, but stops glaring in favour of jumping down to curl up in between him and Green. 

“So,” Green says in the ensuing silence.

Red shrugs.

“Red,” Green says, “we do have to sort this out, you know.”

_ I know,  _ Red signs.  _ But how? _

“I… don’t know,” Green says slowly. “I thought you would know.”

He thought he would know as well, but now that he’s actually thrown into this situation he’s not sure. So he just shrugs.

Sylveon looks between both of them, lets out an unimpressed hum, and then snags Red’s hand with one ribbon. Red starts, flailing a bit ungracefully (Green snickers at this, the jerk), but allows Sylveon to do… whatever Sylveon’s doing.

With a quiet hum, Sylveon lets go and gives Green a pointed look. Red has absolutely no idea what kind of odd communication thing they’re doing, so he chooses to ignore it and focuses on petting Pikachu instead.

“I may be wrong,” Green says eventually, “but I think Sylveon wants us to talk about our emotions.”

_ Talk about our emotions? _

Sylveon gives him an unimpressed look and Green nods. “Yeah.” A pause, then, “Adults do it all the time, so we should be able to do it too, right?”

When Red doesn’t respond, caught between wanting to agree and just leaving, Green sighs. “Dude. It would be nice to just leave it, but if we want to be friends, which I hope you do, we’re gonna have to talk it through. Communication and all that, you know?”

He does know. Of course he knows… and with a sigh he agrees.

“Oh thank Arceus,” Green mutters. “Alright, so. Why did you not talk to me for two weeks straight?”

_ You first,  _ Red signs.

“Okay,” Green sighs. “So. You left the whole volcano incident pretty abruptly, but you seemed sad and guilty before that, so I was worried. And then you didn’t reply to me or say anything for two whole weeks, and I got kind of frustrated. So I called you to try and sort this out but you just didn’t seem to care at all and I guess it just all came flying out in one big explosion.”

Green pauses, breathing deeply for a moment, then keeps talking. “It doesn’t actually excuse my actions, but I do hope you get how I feel now.”

Red doesn’t say anything for a few moments, too busy processing what Green had just said. He hadn’t really bothered to think about how Green must have felt, wrapped up in his own unhappiness.

Maybe he should have.

“So,” Green says carefully, “you mind telling me why you didn’t say anything for two weeks, buddy?”

_ Guilty,  _ Red signs eventually.  _ Sad. Didn’t want you to know. _

“Why not?” Green says. “What, am I that bad of a friend?”

_ No,  _ Red signs.  _ I failed. You didn’t. That’s why. _

“You… failed.” Green says, making it sound more like a question than a statement. “What.”

_ Wasn’t there. Didn’t help anyone. _

“You were all the way across the ocean!” Green says. “How could you have gotten there in time? It’s honestly pretty surprising you got there so soon. Besides, the rangers had it covered. They didn’t need you - that sounds bad. No - Red - I know that look and you need to stop feeling that way. Look, there’s no way you could have realistically gotten there in time.”

Red stares down at the sheets of the bed, picking at the fabric with his nails. Pikachu climbs up onto his lap, squeaking worriedly. He doesn’t react, save for giving Pikachu a gentle pet.

“Look. Look, Red,” Green says, voice softer now. “I get it, you’re the champion, you save people, it’s what you’ve always done. But, there’s good self-standards and then there’s blaming yourself for any small thing. You might want to reconsider your own standards, bud.”

Red looks up finally, scratching Pikachu’s fur gently. He doesn’t feel fully convinced, but hearing those words from another person does make him feel better about it. The knot in his chest loosens more.

“Okay,” Green says. “Rant over. You were sad and guilty and didn’t want to see me because I ‘didn’t fail’.”

Red nods.

“So, now that we know how we both felt,” Green says, “how do we solve this?”

_ Apologize?  _ Red signs hesitantly.

“Did that already,” Green says. “Not sure how much it helped.”

That’s fair. Red leans back on his hands and tries to think back to what Bruno said. Maybe some of it could help.

He reaches over and taps Green lightly on the shoulder. 

_ I want to be your friend. _

Green’s eyes widen slightly. “I mean, yeah, so do I… why are you telling me this?” 

_ Then can we keep being friends? _

“Ye-es?”

_ Okay. _

“Guess we’re still friends, then,” Green says. “I promise not to blow up on you like that again. I’m sorry about what happened.”

_ I won’t not message you for two weeks again,  _ Red signs. Green’s eyes flick rapidly between his hands, then he nods with a smile.

“That would be nice.”

Silence falls over them, but it feels comfortable this time instead of awkward.

_ Friends. _


	29. Green

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more and an epilogue to go! I'm going to post them both today, just because there's no point in making people wait for something that's, like, 500-600 words. I may or may not put up the first chapter of Dark Pulse today, who knows. 
> 
> Other than that, happy Thanksgiving! Those in the US aren't going to be celebrating it yet, but for anyone who is I hope you had a good day!
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> -Jay

Pikachu’s ears are sparking - a tell-tale sign of an incoming thunderbolt. Green steps back, bracing himself, but Sylveon reacts in the exact opposite way. A Moonblast strikes Red’s Pikachu head-on and Green covers his eyes from the light.

In the ensuing silence, he opens his eyes. Pikachu is sitting on the floor dazedly, though Red immediately scoops it up. Sylveon hums softly, satisfied, and steps back.

“Uh, Red?” he says, unsure. 

Red looks up, Pikachu cradled in his arms. Its ears spark slightly and it tries to sit up, but one look from Sylveon stops it.

Sometimes, he’s concerned about Sylveon.

“Do you want to talk?”

Red shifts uneasily, eyes flicking from place to place but never meeting his own. Green exhales silently; he knows that look. 

To his surprise, Bruno is the one to push Red forwards. Green doesn’t hear whatever it is Bruno says, but he assumes it’s something good since Red signs a careful  _ Yes  _ and Green just about collapses in relief. Sylveon, being the wonderful partner she is, snags Red’s arm with a ribbon and tugs him to the stairs. Green walks up next to him and they head upstairs.

The way up is silent. Pikachu, who has perched on top of Red’s shoulder, glares at Sylveon, who simply hums. Red leads them up to his room and the door shuts behind them with a resounding  _ click. _

Green takes a deep breath, bracing himself, and then opens his mouth to speak. “I’m sorry,” he says, unconsciously lacing his fingers together. “I shouldn’t have said that. It’s not true.”

Red shrugs awkwardly, walking to sit on the bed. Green sits next to him after a brief moment of hesitation and Sylveon jumps up as well, curling into a fluffy ball of white and pink. 

_ It’s okay,  _ Red signs.  _ Not your fault. _

“Come on, Red, let me have this,” Green jokes, feeling his lips twitch up in a smile. “I shouldn’t have pushed so hard and I shouldn’t have exploded on you. That was my fault, not yours, and I’m sorry for that.”

Red simply nods, seeming a little more relaxed now. Pikachu doesn’t look happy, eyes narrowing. Sylveon reaches up and twines a ribbon around one of Pikachu’s little paws gently.

_ What’s it doing?  _ Red signs, gesturing towards Sylveon. Green strokes Sylveon’s side lightly, running his fingers through soft fur.

“I don’t know,” he says. “Sensing Pikachu’s emotions, maybe.” That’s what the tendrils are used for, after all.

Sylveon gives them an innocent, fanged smile and lets go, humming peacefully. Pikachu still doesn’t look happy, but stops glaring at Green in favour of jumping down to curl up next to Sylveon.

“So,” Green says eventually, just to break the silence.

Red shrugs.

“Red,” Green says, “we do have to sort this out, you know.” 

_ I know,  _ Red signs.  _ But how? _

“I… don’t know,” Green says after a moment of thought. “I thought you would know.”

Red just shrugs, seemingly as clueless.

Sylveon looks between both of them, hums disdainfully, and then snags Red’s hand with one ribbon. Red jerks, flailing ungracefully, (Green snickers at the sight) but doesn’t pull his hand away.

With a quiet hum, Sylveon lets go and gives Green a look. It’s  _ that  _ look - the look that says  _ do-something-you-idiot. _

_ What?  _ he tries to say back, shaking his head in confusion. Sylveon gestures towards his face and then twines a ribbon around his hand, closing its eyes exaggeratedly.

When Green still doesn’t react, Sylveon makes a moving motion with its mouth and points to its ribbon, still wrapped around his hand

Mouth moving… Green tries to imitate Sylveon and Sylveon nods affirmatively. What did Sylveon mean -  _ oh.  _ Talking.

Ribbon… ? What did Sylveon mean by that? Ribbon, wrapped around his hand, which was what Sylveon did when sensing his… 

“I may be wrong,” he says carefully, “but I think Sylveon wants us to talk about our emotions.”

_ Talk about our emotions?  _ Red signs, eyebrows furrowing.

Green nods. “Yeah… Adults do it all the time, so we should be able to do it too, right?”

When Red doesn’t respond, looking rather hesitant, Green sighs. “Dude,” he says. “It would be nice to just leave it, but if we want to be friends, which I hope you do, we’re gonna have to talk it through. Communication and all that, you know?”

Red doesn’t react for a moment and Green is sure Sylveon is uncomfortable with how tense he’s feeling, but eventually Red nods.

“Oh thank Arceus,” he mutters. The feeling of relief is like a shot of dopamine. “Alright, so. Why did you not talk to me for two weeks straight?”

_ You first,  _ Red signs,  l̶i̶k̶e̶ ̶a̶ ̶c̶o̶w̶a̶r̶d̶.

“Ok-ay,” Green sighs, resigning himself. “So. You left the whole volcano incident pretty abruptly, but you seemed sad and guilty before that, so I was worried. And then you didn’t reply to me or say anything for two whole weeks, and I got kind of frustrated. So I called you to try and sort this out but you just didn’t seem to care at all and I guess it just all came flying out in one big explosion.”

He pauses, taking a calming breath, then keeps talking. “It doesn’t actually excuse my actions, but I do hope you get how I feel now.”

Red doesn’t say anything, face blank as always. Sylveon lets go of his hand with a slight wince.

“So,” Green says cautiously, “you mind telling me why you didn’t say anything for two weeks, buddy?”

_ Guilty,  _ Red signs after a moment.  _ Sad. Didn’t want you to know. _

“Why not?” Green says, confused. “What, am I that bad of a friend?”

It sounds like a joke, but he’s actually kind of worried.

_ No,  _ Red signs.  _ I failed. You didn’t. That’s why. _

“You… failed.” Green says, feeling an odd mix of confusion and exasperation. “What.”

_ Wasn’t there. Didn’t help anyone. _

This is ridiculous.

“You were all the way across the ocean!” he says. “How could you have gotten there in time? It’s honestly pretty surprising you got there so soon. Besides, the rangers had it covered. They didn’t need you - that sounds bad. No - Red - I know that look and you need to stop feeling that way. Look, there’s no way you could have realistically gotten there in time.”

Red stares downwards, picking at the sheets. Pikachu squeaks worriedly. 

“Look. Look, Red,” Green says, pitching his voice softer. “I get it, you’re the champion, you save people, it’s what you’ve always done. But, there’s good self-standards and then there’s blaming yourself for any small thing. You might want to reconsider your own standards, bud.”

Red looks up finally, still petting Pikachu.

“Okay,” Green says after a breath. “Rant over. You were sad and guilty and didn’t want to see me because I ‘didn’t fail’.”

Red nods.

“So, now that we know how we both felt,” Green says, “how do we solve this?”

_ Apologize?  _ Red signs hesitantly.

“Did that already,” Green says, exhaling. “Not sure how much it helped.”

Red simply leans back on his hands, staring at the ceiling. Green exhales silently and brushes a hand through Sylveon’s fur.

There’s a tap to his shoulder and Green looks towards Red.

_ I want to be your friend,  _ Red signs.

“I mean, yeah,” Green says, not sure whether to feel surprised or confused, “so do I… why are you telling me this?” 

_ Then can we keep being friends? _

“Ye-es?”

_ Okay. _

Wow. It had seemed so complicated in his head, but Red just fixed everything with a wave of his fingers.

“Guess we’re still friends, then,” he says. “I promise not to blow up on you like that again. I’m sorry about what happened.”

_ I won’t not message you for two weeks again,  _ Red signs. Green stares at Red’s hands for a moment too long, verifying what Red said, then smiles. 

“That would be nice.”

Here he is, he thinks with a hint of irony, sitting with his former rival in silence. And yet, it’s one of the happiest moments of his life.


	30. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here we are! 30 chapters, around 55,000 words, and a complete story.
> 
> You may or may not have figured this out already, but Filler Title was a joke. That's the whole reason it didn't have a proper title (and still doesn't). It was an idea bubbling up in my head that I slapped down onto paper and then randomly decided to post. 
> 
> At first, I thought it would just stay unfinished, like the hundreds of others that I had before. But then it kept growing and growing and growing and finally culminating into the chaotic mess that is here today. I really enjoyed writing this story, no matter how weirdly random the whole universe is, and I want to thank everyone who looked at, kudosed, and commented on this story. Writers feed off of support and I'm really not an exception. So, thank you.
> 
> I really hope you enjoy this epilogue. It's light and fluffy, something that's probably needed after the emotional rollercoaster I just wrote.
> 
> Thank you once again and enjoy!
> 
> -Jay

“Chuuu.”

Pikachu, perched on a tree branch, stares down at Sylveon, who is grinning mischievously. Green is sitting beneath the tree, laughing for some reason. The sound makes Red smile.

He sets the bowl of berries on the ground and heads off to see what’s going on with those two. As he gets closer, it soon becomes apparent. Pikachu jumps up and away from Sylveon’s ribbons, trying not to get caught. Ferrothorn, hanging from a nearby tree above Snorlax, watches eagerly. 

_ What’s going on?  _ Red signs, walking up to Green. Green stops laughing for a moment to reply.

“Pikachu was kind of grouchy because you weren’t there, so Sylveon hit it in the face with a Disarming Voice and then proceeded to chase Pikachu all around the clearing,” Green says, snickering. “Looks like she finally succeeded.”

Indeed, when Red looks up Sylveon has managed to snag Pikachu’s torso and is dragging it down slowly. Pikachu’s ears spark and a Thundershock hits Sylveon, but it barely even flinches and pulls Pikachu away from the tree trunk, beaming all the while.

“Hey, uh, Red?” Green says. “You might want to get your berries.”

Red frowns, turning around. Snorlax and Ferrothorn blink innocently at him (well, Ferrothorn does), both holding clumps of berries in their hands (limbs?).

Green is back to laughing and Red sighs. Normally, he would go back in and get more berries, but right now… 

Nah.

He lets Snorlax and Ferrothorn fight over the berries instead, settling cross-legged next to Green. The happy cries of their Pokemon drift through the air. The familiar sounds make him smile.

Everything will be okay.

Sylveon, smiling up at Pikachu as the little electric-type stares back in what looks a bit like fear. Crawdaunt, standing on top of Lapras, pincers clacking rhythmically. Ferrothorn hanging down from a tree above Snorlax, watching the scene eagerly. Green takes one look at the scene in front of him and starts laughing again, remembering what had just conspired.

_ What’s going on?  _ Red signs, having walked up to him. Green takes a deep breath to calm himself before talking.

“Pikachu was kind of grouchy because you weren’t there,” he says, “so Sylveon hit it in the face with a Disarming Voice and then proceeded to chase Pikachu all around the clearing.” He snickers upon seeing what Sylveon had done. “Looks like she finally succeeded.”

Pikachu, claws scoring marks into the tree trunk, was being slowly dragged down by Sylveon’s ribbons. A Thundershock hits Sylveon dead-on, but the fairy-type barely even winces and manages to pull Pikachu off the tree.

“Hey, uh, Red?” he says, having noticed something. “You may want to get your berries.”

Red frowns, looking towards where Green is looking. Snorlax and Ferrothorn have discovered the bowl and are eating the berries. Upon being noticed, they immediately feign innocence and Green starts laughing again.

Red sighs quietly, then plops down next to Green. A slight smile spreads across Red’s face and Green suppresses a blush.

The sunlight filters through the leaves, dappling the forest grass. And somehow, Green knows: everything will be okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dark Pulse is up at this link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27110767/chapters/66201163
> 
> If you do choose to read it, I hope you enjoy!


End file.
